Abstract

In India, the study of Economic Entomology ön scientific lines may be said to have been started from 1903 when the Department of Agriculture under the Central and Provincial Govern- ments were ro-organised. During the past three decades, the main work in connection with Entomology was confined to Agricultural Entomology and consisted in a sort of survey of the pests-major and minor, the comparative incidence of the different forms with the extent and nature of loss caused, studies on the important phases in the life histories and habits of some of the more important ones, some observations into the bionomics of some of their natural enemies and, finally, the adoption of such control measures as have become possible. In fact, in spite of our meagre knowledge of the ways of several of these insects, it was the last item on which greater attention had to be paid for obvious reasons. It is believed that, with some valuable data so far collected, the time has now come to enter upon another import- ant phase of the work which might lead both the farmer and the Econo- mic Entomologist to adopt prophylactic and direct methods of pest control which might supplement or even replace with advantage those which are now in vogue; one such important line of work appears to be the investigations on the various relations existing between the insects on the one hand and weather and climatic conditions on the other, the two latter constituting what is popularly known as the science of Meteorology.

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