Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-sxzjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-24T02:48:12.236Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Egg-laying pattern of Hyposidra talaca (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) in Northeastern Indian tea plantations: implications for pest management

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 2013

Palatty Allesh Sinu ,
Sadhan Mallick ,
Piklu Mandal  and
Tapan Kumar Talukder
Palatty Allesh Sinu*
Affiliation:
North-Bengal Regional Research and Development Centre, Tea Research Association, Nagrakata, PO 735 225, Jalpaiguri District, West Bengal, India
Sadhan Mallick
Affiliation:
North-Bengal Regional Research and Development Centre, Tea Research Association, Nagrakata, PO 735 225, Jalpaiguri District, West Bengal, India
Piklu Mandal
Affiliation:
North-Bengal Regional Research and Development Centre, Tea Research Association, Nagrakata, PO 735 225, Jalpaiguri District, West Bengal, India
Tapan Kumar Talukder
Affiliation:
North-Bengal Regional Research and Development Centre, Tea Research Association, Nagrakata, PO 735 225, Jalpaiguri District, West Bengal, India
*
* E-mail: sinupa@gmail.com
Get access

Abstract

Hyposidra talaca (Walker) is a recent host range-expanded major insect pest of tea in Northeastern India. We studied the egg-laying pattern of H. talaca in tea plantations with an aim to take suitable measures to disrupt egg hatching and to manage the pest. Egg clutch distribution in different heights (0–8 m) of 49 shade trees of seven species was studied. Stems and foliage of a total of 400 tea plants growing close to the shade trees were also subjected to the survey. Female moths deposited eggs underneath the scales of shade tree bark, lichen cover and the root mantles of parasitic plants that are growing on all shade tree plants, except Melia azaderach L. The shade tree bark of M. azaderach and tea plants had no egg deposits. Overall, 1785 egg clutches, comprising 84–302 eggs/clutch (average 258 eggs), were located. An average of 45.77 ( ± 7.06 SD, range 0–183) egg clutches was found per tree. The mean number of egg clutches was high in Acacia lenticularis Buch.-Ham. (95.4 ± 24.78 SD, range 40–183), and was low in Lagerstroemia speciosa (L.) Pers. (23 ± 6.42 SD, range 4–46). Overall, the number of egg clutches reduced with the height of shade trees. This study suggests that the oviposition of H. talaca is typical for an outbreak species and that the management of shade trees, including the choice of species, has an important role in controlling the pest in tea plantations.

Keywords

egg-laying behaviourGeometridaetea pestlooper caterpillarshade tree plantstea plantationsNortheastern India
Type
Research Papers
Information
International Journal of Tropical Insect Science , Volume 33 , Issue 1 , March 2013 , pp. 8 - 13
Copyright
Copyright © ICIPE 2013

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anonymous (2011) Tea looper caterpillar. Bulletin No. PP/02/2011. Tea Research Association, Kolkata.Google Scholar
Antony, B., Sinu, P. A. and Das, S. (2011) New record of nucleopolyhedroviruses in tea looper caterpillars in India. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology 108, 63–67.Google Scholar
Azerefegne, F. and Solbreck, C. (2010) Oviposition preference and larval performance of the sweet potato butterfly Acraea acerata on Ipomoea species in Ethiopia. Agriculture and Forest Entomology 12, 161–168.Google Scholar
Barua, D. N. (1969) Seasonal dormancy in tea (Camellia sinensis L.). Nature 224, 514.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barua, D. N. (1994) Science and Practice in Tea Culture. Tea Research Association, Calcutta. 509 pp.Google Scholar
Beer, J. (1987) Advantages, disadvantages and desirable characteristics of shade trees for coffee, cacao and tea. Agrofor Syst 5, 3–13.Google Scholar
Bernays, E. A. and Chapman, R. F. (1994) Host-plant Selection by Phytophagous Insects. Chapman and Hall, New York. 312 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cunningham, J. P., West, S. A. and Zalucki, M. P. (2001) Host selection in Phytophagous insects: A new explanation for learning in adults. Oikos 95, 537–543.Google Scholar
Das, G. M. (1965) Pests of tea in North-East India and their control. Memorandum No. 27. Toklai Experimental Station, Jorhat. 115 pp.Google Scholar
David, B. V. and Ananthakrishnan, T. N. (2004) General and Applied Entomology, 2nd edn.Tata McGraw-Hill, New Delhi. 1184 pp.Google Scholar
Entwistle P. F. (1972) Pests of Cocoa. Longmans, London. 779 pp.Google Scholar
Farrell, B. D., Mitter, C. and Futuyma, D. J. (1992) Diversification at the insect plant interface. BioScience 42, 34–42.Google Scholar
Floater, G. J. and Zalucki, M. P. (2000) Habitat structure and egg distributions in the processionary caterpillar Ochrogaster lunifer: lessons for conservation and pest management. Journal of Applied Ecology 37, 87–99.Google Scholar
Hazarika, L. K., Bhuyan, M. and Hazarika, B. N. (2009) Insect pests of tea and their management. Annual Review of Entomology 54, 267–284.Google Scholar
Henniges-Janssen, K., Schöfl, G., Reineke, A., Heckel, D. G. and Groot, A. T. (2011) Oviposition of diamondback moth in the presence and absence of a novel host plant. Bulletin of Entomological Research 101, 99–105.Google Scholar
Intachat, J., Holloway, J. D. and Staines, H. (2001) Effects of weather and phenology on the abundance and diversity of geometroid moths in a natural Malaysian tropical rain forest. Journal of Tropical Ecology 17, 411–429.Google Scholar
Jaenike, J. (1990) Host specialization in phytophagous insects. Annual Review of Ecology Evolution and Systematics 21, 243–273.Google Scholar
Janz, N., Nylin, S. and Wahlberg, N. (2006) Diversity begets diversity: host expansions and the diversification of plant feeding insects. BMC Evolutionary Biology 6, 4.Google Scholar
Leather, S. R. and Burand, A. C. (1987) Factors affecting life-history parameters of the pine beauty moth, Panolis flammea (D. and S.): the hidden costs of reproduction. Functional Ecology 1, 331–338.Google Scholar
Leather, S. R., Watt, A. D. and Forrest, G. I. (1987) Insect-induced chemical changes in young lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta): the effect of previous defoliation on oviposition, growth and survival of the pine beauty moth, Panolis flammea. Ecological Entomology 12, 275–281.Google Scholar
Logan, J. A., Régnière, J. and Powell, J. A. (2003) Assessing the impacts of global warming on forest pest dynamics. Frontiers in Ecology and Environment 1, 130–137.Google Scholar
Meissle, M., Mouron, P., Musa, T., Bigler, F., Pons, X., Vasileiadis, V. P., Otto, S., Antichi, D., Kiss, J., Pálinkás, Z., Dorner, Z., Van Der Weide, R., Groten, J., Czembor, E., Adamczyk, J., Thibord, J.-B., Melander, B., Cordsen Nielsen, G., Poulsen, R. T., Zimmermann, O., Verschwele, A. and Oldenburg, E. (2010) Pests, pesticide use and alternative options in European maize production: current status and future prospects. Journal of Applied Entomology 134, 357–375.Google Scholar
Novotny, V., Miller, S. E., Cizek, L., Leps, J., Janda, M., Basset, Y., Weiblen, G. D. and Darrow, K. (2003) Colonising aliens: caterpillars (Lepidoptera) feeding on Piper aduncum and P. umbellatum in rainforests of Papua New Guinea. Ecological Entomology 28, 704–714.Google Scholar
Price, P. W. (1994) Phylogenetic constraints, adaptive syndromes, and emergent properties: from individuals to population dynamics. Research in Population Ecology 36, 3–14.Google Scholar
Rehman, A., Sharma, M., Borthakur, M. and Barthakur, B. K. (2007) Present scenario of scale insect and looper caterpillar infestation in tea. Two and a Bud 54, 3–7.Google Scholar
Sen-Sharma P. K. and Thakur M. L. (2008) Pests of dipterocarpaceae and their management, pp. 165–187. In Forest Entomology (edited by L. K. Jha and P. K. Sen-Sharma). APH Publishing, New Delhi.Google Scholar
Sinu, P. A. (2011) Avian pest control in tea plantations of sub-Himalayan plains of Northeast India: mixed-species foraging flock matters. Biological Control 58, 362–366.Google Scholar
Sinu, P. A., Mandal, P. and Antony, B. (2011 a) Range expansion of Hyposidra talaca (Geometridae: Lepidoptera), a major pest, to Northeastern Indian tea plantations: change of weather and anti-predatory behaviour of the pest as possible causes. International Journal of Tropical Insect Science 31, 242–248.Google Scholar
Sinu, P. A., Antony, B. and Mallick, S. (2011 b) The occurrence of nucleopolyhedrovirus infecting Hyposidra talaca (Walker) (Geometridae: Lepidoptera), a tea defoliator from North-East India. Biocontrol Science and Technology 21, 999–1003.Google Scholar
Tammaru, T., Kaitaniemi, P. and Ruohomäki, K. (1995) Oviposition choices of Epirrita autumnata (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) in relation to its eruptive population dynamics. Oikos 74, 296–304.Google Scholar
Tanhuanpää, M., Ruohomäki, K. and Kaitaniemi, P. (2003) Influence of adult and egg predation on reproductive success of Epirrita autumnata (Lepidoptera: Geometridae). Oikos 102, 263–272.Google Scholar
Thomas, C. D., Ng, D., Singer, M. C., Mallet, J. L. B., Parmesan, C. and Billington, H. L. (1987) Incorporation of a European weed into the diet of a North American herbivore. Evolution 41, 892–901.Google Scholar
Wiklund, C. (1975) The evolutionary relationship between adult oviposition preferences and larval host range in Papilio machaon L. Oecologia 18, 185–197.Google Scholar
Wiklund, C. (1977) Oviposition, feeding and spatial separation of breeding and foraging habitats in a population of Leptidea sinapis (Lepidoptera). Oikos 28, 56–68.Google Scholar
Williams, D. W. and Liebhold, A. M. (1995) Herbivorous insects and global change: potential changes in the spatial distribution of forest defoliator outbreaks. Journal of Biogeography 22, 665–671.Google Scholar