16 
Indian Forest Records. 
[Vol. VII. 
under such conditions have been found to be in the third stage. During 
the season on approaching a badly infested tree, one is frequently checked 
by the silk threads left by descending larva?, while a vehicle travelling 
along a road bordered by toon trees collects large numbers of 3rd and 
4th stage caterpillars and silk in sufficient amount to constitute a 
nuisance. The role played by vehicles and pedestrians in the dispersal 
of the pest along the main thoroughfares is obvious. 
As in the case of many lepidoptera, the caterpillar is able to climb 
up its silk-thread by the following procedure. The larva extending 
its head upwards grips the thread between the mandibles, and hauling 
on it lifts the body until the thread can be looped over one of the third 
pair of legs. The mandibles take a fresh grip and the body is again 
lifted up until the thread is caught over the third leg on the opposite 
side. This process is carried out alternately on either leg until a skein 
is formed which impedes further progress ; this is removed at intervals 
by the prolegs of the anal segment. 
Pupation. The first and second brood larvae pupate almost invari¬ 
ably under flakes of bark on the trunk and main ] branches of the tree 
on which they have fed. The cocoon is described later (vide p. 17). 
Cocoons are frequently closely packed in masses two and three layers 
deep amounting to more than one thousand to the square foot. Such 
overcrowding makes it impossible for the lowest and earliest pupated 
moths to emerge, and a large proportion never leaves the cocoons. 
Given suitable accidental localities for pupation near their host tree, 
e g., houses, fences, walls, stacks of fuel or timber,miscellaneous rubbish, 
etc., larvae spin up in such places, but they rarely pupate in natural 
cover such as undergrowth, dead leaves, stones, etc. 
2. The shoot generations. 
Third, fourth and fifth generations. 
Larvae of the third, fourth and fifth generations feed only in the 
shoots of the current year. Saplings and young trees, which owing 
to the absence of flowers are not attacked by the first two generations 
of the pest are subject to attack by the three later generations of the 
year. Owing also to the greater abundance of new growth in the younger 
trees, the highest intensity of attack is shifted from the old to the young 
trees. 
Eggs are laid as a rule on the new unexpanded leaves [vide Plate 
IV, fig. 1]; the larva on hatching descends to the stouter portions of 
the growing shoot and feeds by removing the epidermis in irregular 
patches, at the same time testing the shoot for suitable spots to bore 
into the interior. If too vigorous tissue is selected as the site of entry 
[ 161 ] 
