Vol. 22 (September 2020) Environment

The milkweeds , pictus (Fabricus, 1775)

Mahendra Devanda SMCC Government College, Abu Road, Sirohi, Rajasthan, 307026, India Corresponding author: [email protected]

“All locusts are , but all grasshoppers are not locusts (Acrididae)”. Locusts have a behavioural phase called the gregarious phase when they congregate into thick swarms to feed on green plants including all crops available causing famine. “Locust Warning Organization'' at Jodhpur, Directorate of Plant Protection Quarantine and Storage, Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer’s Welfare monitors the swarms of the locusts like the recent one of Schistocerca gregaria. The present observations is on the Painted Grasshopper (Fabricus, 1775) (: ) (Fig. 1) on the milkweed, Calotropis procera (Asclepiadaceae) in Abu Road, Sirohi, Rajasthan. Grasshoppers were found feeding on the host plant (Fig.2), 4-6 individuals were spotted on each plant including mating pairs. These grasshoppers were around 6dm in length and exhibited yellow and blue aposematic coloration. Calotropis sps. Serves as a main host to P. pictusis which feed on the plant leaves and its considered as minor pests on it. (https://www.nbair.res.in/Databases/insectpests/Poekilocerus-pictus.php) The grasshopper is also reported on other hosts such as wheat, papaya, citrus, castor, brinjal, mango and others. Cytogenetic investigations on grasshopper chromosomes in India were initiated with observations on the spermatogenesis of P. picta (Asana and Makino, 1934). Males of this group are highly useful as laboratory to demonstrate the phenomenon of meiosis (spermatogenesis) to students in universities and colleges across India. As an African quote “The restless grasshopper only finds rest in the gizzard of a bird”, they are a good food source for reptiles, birds and mammals and serve as a part of the food chain.

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Fig. 2. Damage of Calotropis procera by Fig. 1. Adult Poecilocerapictus P. pictus

References:-

Asana, J. J. and Makino, S. 1934. The chromosomes of Poecilocera picta Fabr. (A short homed grasshopper). J. Univ. Bombay, 2: 50-52. https://www.nbair.res.in/Databases/insectpests/Poekilocerus-pictus.php

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