Hemiptera: Pyrrhocoridae)

Entomol Gener 33 (4): 283–288 Stuttgart: 2011-12 ISSN: 0171-8177

EGT-Nr 1.386 VIII

Artiﬁ cial Rearing of the Red cotton bug, Dysdercus cingulatus using Cotton seed-based Artiﬁ cial diet (Hemiptera: Pyrrhocoridae)

KITHERIAN SAHAYARAJ, MAJESH TOMSON & SUBRAMANIAN KALIDAS

Received: 2011-03-16/2011-06-15 Accepted: 2011-07-17

SAHAYARAJ K, TOMSON M, & KALIDAS S [Crop Prot Res C, Dep Adv Zool Biotechnol, St Xav Coll, Manon Sund Univ, Tamil Nadu, India]: Artifi cial Rearing of the Red cotton bug, Dysdercus cingulatus using Cotton seed-based Artifi cial Diet (Hemiptera: Pyrrhocoridae). – Entomol Gener 33 (4): 283–288; Stuttgart 2011-12. – – – [Note] Preparation and application of an artifi cial diet on insects often encounter a lot of barriers. The successive proportion of the diet affects the biology and reproduction of the insects. Dysdercus cingulatus (Fabricius 1775), an economically important insect pest infesting most of the Malvaceae plants, has been utilized in many biological researches. Laboratory rearing on natural hosts is a not economically viable, laborious and time consuming. To overcome these constrains, an artifi cial diet was developed using its natural feed, the cotton seed. D cingulatus developed quickly (17 days) with heavier adult female (148 mg/animals) and maximum fecundity (57 eggs/female) when reared with artifi cial diet. However, artifi cial diet reduces nymphal survival rate (10%), adult longevity (3 and 2 days for male and female respectively) and male-biased sex ratio. Furthermore, artifi cial diet signifi cantly enhances hatchability. Oviposition index and relative growth rate of the pest might be due to the higher carbohydrate, protein and lipid content observed in the artifi cial diet. It is therefore suggested that the proposed artifi cial diet be used for artifi cial rearing of the pest. Keywords: Dysdercus cingulatus (Fabricius 1775) – artifi cial diet – chemical composition – cotton pest – growth – life history – reproduction

1 Introduction

The red cotton bug (RCB) or cotton stainer, Dysdercus cingulatus (Fabricius 1775) is a serious pest of cotton, lady’s ﬁ nger, sambhal, hollyhock, hibiscus [KOHNO & NGAN 2004]. It is distributed in various parts of Asia, Australia, Egypt, Africa etc. In cotton agro-ecosystem, nymphs and adults feed on developing and mature cotton, Gossypium hirsutum (Linnaeus 1758) seed. Seed weight, oil content and seed viability decline as a result of RCB infestation. Severe attacks on bolls of two weeks old can kill developing seeds leading to boll shedding. Where feeding is less, though damaged bolls are retained and yield and quality of lint are also reduced as a secondary effect of feeding. Furthermore, it also acts as vector for transmitting the fungal pathogens in cotton [KSHEMKALYANI et al 1989, KARIMI et al 2010]. It was reported by WILSON et al [2008] that fuzzy cotton seed used for stock feed is an important alternate source of food for cotton stainers. Storing fuzzy seed in exposed places where cotton stainers can access this food source over long periods has to be avoided. The control of rotten cotton and cotton volunteers is important for limiting cotton stainer’s access to alternate food source. In general, rearing of phytophagous insects on natural food is not only time consuming but also involves a lot of man power. Further, frequent handling of the culture results in high mortality of insects. The success over the past century is due to the ability to rear insects on artiﬁ cial diet [COHEN 2004].