172 Indian Museum Notes. [Vol. V« 



two on each side, each spot smooth, shining, raised, oval and black- 

 ish ; below this are two lateral series of similar spots, one below 

 the other, placed obliquely, the upper spot nearer the head the 

 larger; the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth segments with one spot 

 only in each series ; below these again are the similarly formed and 

 coloured spiracles ; true legs, abdominal legs and oval claspers con- 

 colorous with the body, the abdominal legs and claspers with black 

 hooks; the body bears a few scattered hairs. 



PUPA reddish- brown, smooth, shining, length 75 of an inch, 

 head rather pointed, spiracles prominent, black. 



At Seeraha I did rot succeed in finding any eggs of this moth, 

 nor any young larvae. Mr. Cotes in Ind. Mus. Notes, vol. i, n. 1, 

 p. 24, says that the eggs of the Amercian sugarcane borer are laid 

 upon the young cane near the axils. In the West Indian cane borer, 

 Diatrsea saccharalis, Fabricius, the eggs are at first light yellow 

 in colour, within thirty-six hours a tinge of orange appears, which 

 deepens gradually becoming orange-brown ; the eggs are laid in 

 clusters of from four to frf^-seven, usually between ten and thirty, 

 on the green leaves {H. Maxwell-Lefroy). In Java the allied 

 Chilo infuscatel/us, Snellen, lays its eggs in clusters on the under 

 surface and near the base of the leaves, although sometimes they 

 are laid on the upper side and then almost always just on the 

 midrib [Dr. L. Zehntner). It is probable that our species also lays 

 its eggs on the leaves, where they would be very conspicuous. 



On emergence the young larva probably at once tunnels into the 

 heart of a shoot of cane, and gcadually eats its way downwards, 

 killing the shoot in doing so. At intervals it drives holes to the outside 

 of the cane, presumably for air. The central growing shoot of the 

 cane dies and grows no more; it turns yellow, and it is by this dead, 

 yellow central leaf (called a " dead heart "} that the presence of a 

 borer in a shoot or stem of cane is at once demonstrated. If this 

 "dead-heart" is gently pulled it comes out at once, its base being 

 rotten and turned black. The entire tunnel or burrow made by the 

 larva also turns black ; it is full of moisture, smells badly, is in a 

 generally very insanitary state, and is the home of many small insects 

 that live on the putrescent matter, especially a small grub of some 

 fly. When full-grown the larva turns to a pupa as stated above and 

 emerges in about tea days as a dingy grey or drab-coloured moth. 



As regards remedies for this pest, the following notes may be of 

 use. When the cane is" very young children in gangs in charge of 

 some intelligent man should go over the canes row by row, and pick 

 off the eggs which are probably conspicuous and laid in rows or cluste r s 

 on the leaves. The eggs of Chilo simplex not having as yet fceen 



