386 
COLEOPTERA. 
weevils can be found on the plants in the rains. Atactogaster finitimus , 
Fst. (Leucomigus antennalis , Fst.), is stated to be injurious to cotton 
and gram in South India (Ind. Mus. 
Notes, Vol. IV, p. 112), and is a 
common insect in Madras. 
Xanthochelus super cilios us, Gylh. 
(Plate XXVII, fig. 9), is the large 
grey weevil found feeding abun¬ 
dantly upon the leaves of ber ( Zizig - 
phus jujuba). 
Hylobiince.—Paramecops farinosa, 
Wied., is the weevil so commonly 
found on the Ak (Calotropis spp.). 
It is greyish in colour but is covered 
in a white mealy efflorescence. The 
eggs are laid in the rind of the Ak 
fruit, the little grubs boring into 
the soft tissues and feeding on 
the developing fibre and young 
seeds. The full grown grub reaches 
a length of half an inch, and pupates in a compact cocoon formed of the 
delicate fibre (known in commerce as “kapok”). Ten days after, 
the adult emerges, and feeds on the leaves of the Ak plant. The 
weevils are very common and widely spread where this plant grows. 
Cyladince.—Cylas formicarius, F.—The best account of this insect 
is found in the Queensland Agricultural Journal for August 1900 (page 
176). Mr. Try on there gives a thorough account of the species, with a 
complete bibliography. He discussed its origin, a matter still of 
doubt, but as the two first describers, Fabricius and Bohemann, both 
obtained it from India, there is some ground for believing it to be a 
native of South India, spread gradually over the tropics. A short 
account of this insect will be found in Indian Insect Pests. Eggs are 
laid on the sweet potato tuber or rootstock, the larvae tunnelling into 
the tissues and boring through them ; pupation takes place inside and 
the weevil feeds also on or in the tuber. The stages are well 
shown in Plate X XVI, and the weevils may be found throughout 
India, being often destructively abundant. 
Fig. 263.--Atactogaster 
finitimus. [I. M. N.] 
