684 
RHYNCHOTA. 
/ 
Leptocorisa varicornis, Fabr., is the rice bug, whose prevalence in rice 
and millet fields as the grain forms is a serious matter for the cultivator. 
The life-history is dealt with 
elsewhere. (Mem. Dept. 
Agric., Vol. II, No. 1.) This 
insect, while living normally 
among grass and thick 
vegetation, multiplies very 
largely in rice fields and is 
one of the few distinctly 
injurious Heteroptera. 
Riptortus (Plate LXXVI, 
figs. 1—5) includes several 
species of narrow brown 
insects, found flying among 
grass in jungle, in crops. 
They are common among 
leguminous crops such as 
the minor pulses grown with 
other crops and have been seen to suck the pods. R. linearis, Fabr., ap¬ 
pears to be the most common species. Its life-history is shortly des¬ 
cribed by Kershaw and Kirkaldy (Trans. Ent. Soc., London, 1908, p. 59). 
Corizince.—Corizus bengalensis, Ball., is common especially upon 
Bhindi ( Hibiscus esculentus ) upon which it can commonly be found during 
the hot weather and rains. It is a small but peculiarly elegant insect, of 
very active habits and is, at least in part, plant feeding, extracting the 
sap and mucilage of its food-plant. It is found throughout India from 
the Punjab to Madras. C . rubicundus , Sign., also occurs in the plains of 
India with the above species. The nymphs are dark red with white 
speckles, the newly emerged adults are bright red at first, gradually grow¬ 
ing dark-coloured. These insects cluster in masses on the buds of Penta- 
petes indica and give the same appearance as do the vivid red flowers 
of the plant. (Plate LXXVI, fig. 13.) 
Fig. 446— Leptocorisa varicornis x 2 
\ 
Serinetha includes two red species which will be confused with Pyrrho- 
coridce and which are the only brightly coloured species likely to be 
found. S. abdominalis, Fabr., and S . augur , Fabr., are both common, 
