Bionomics of Earhead Bug Leptocorisa acuta Thunberg (Coreidae: Hemiptera) Infesting Rice

Abstract

Biology of rice earhead bug, Leptocorisa acuta (Thunberg) carried out at Laboratory of Department of Entomology, N. M. College of Agriculture, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat on rice (Gujarat Rice-11) during kharif-2023. Eggs were dark brown with an average length and breadth of 1.28±0.05 mm and 0.85±0.06 mm, respectively. The incubation period varied from 5 to 7 days with an average of 6.07±0.78 days and the average hatching percentage was 81.22±14.93 per cent. There were five nymphal instars in the life cycle of L. acuta. The average developmental periods of the first, second, third, fourth and fifth nymphal instars were 2.80±0.41, 1.67±0.55, 1.87±0.57, 2.83±0.53 and 4.23±0.63 days, respectively. The total nymphal period was an average of 13.77±0.86 days. The total developmental period (egg + nymph) was found to be an average of 19.83±1.39 days. The average adult period was 23.50±7.69 days. The average pre-oviposition, oviposition and post-oviposition periods lasted for 4.87±1.50, 9.03±3.36 and 15.63±3.20 days, respectively. The average longevity for male and female adults lasted for 17.47±2.83 and 29.53±3.91 days, respectively. The female laid an average of 53.96±31.90 eggs. The total life cycle from egg to adult was an average of 42.67±7.38 days.