128 CERATOPACAYS VARIABILIS. 


ground. They are also to be found hibernating in the thicker 
coppice bushes. They commence feeding ‘again in February 
and become fully developed in March. 
The length of time spent in the larval stages, after hatching 
out from the egg, to the time when the insect becomes fully 
_ developed is said to be as follows :— 
Time spent as a wingless larva . : : . two weeks. 
Do. do, with rudiments of wings ° . “ 
Wings developing from rudiments to fully aayelonet three =a 
The insect now flies well and coupling takes place. When 
in this condition the tips of the abdomen are joined together 
and the insects only crawl about and do not fly even if fright- 
ened. The coupling season is said to last six weeks. Thus 
seven weeks are spent as a larva and about three in the imago 
stage, that is, if the summer generations of the imagos die off 
within a fortnight of laying their eggs as is the case with the 
November one. This would give 10 weeks for one generation 
with the exception of the November one, which takes about 14 
weeks since the insects hibernate for a portion of the winter, 
The pest is said to become scarce during the rainy season 
if heavy rain occurs. 
Areas from which reported, 
The insect has been reported from the Montgomery division 
inthe Punjab as damaging coppice shoots. 
Specimens in the British Museum (Capt. Boy’s collection) 
are labelled as collected in North-West India. 
Relations to the Forest. 
This insect has appeared in large numbers on Jhand 
(Prosopis spictgera) coppice in the Montgomery division. It 
attacks the shoots in all its stages, sucking up the juices of the 
plants and only ceases its depredations for about a couple of 
months—December and January—in the cold weather. The 
insects prefer the tips of the young new shoots and commence 
work in February on the young shoots arising from stools felled 
over in the previous December. The insect sucks the sap and 
the leaves become colourless and dry and fall, and the ends 
of the shoots turn mud-coloured and die back. The coppice 
ral 
