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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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 January 2012

Palatty Allesh Sinu ,
Picklu Mandal  and
Binu Antony
Palatty Allesh Sinu*
Affiliation:
North Bengal Regional Research and Development Centre, Tea Research Association, Nagrakata PO 735 225, Jalpaiguri District, West Bengal, India
Picklu Mandal
Affiliation:
North Bengal Regional Research and Development Centre, Tea Research Association, Nagrakata PO 735 225, Jalpaiguri District, West Bengal, India
Binu Antony
Affiliation:
Tocklai Experimental Station, Tea Research Association, Cinnamara PO, Jorhat-8, Assam, India
*
*E-mail: sinupa@gmail.com
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Abstract

Hyposidra talaca (Walk.) is a major pest of tea (Camellia sinensis L.) in Northeastern (NE) India. The present study examined (1) the likely causes of expansion of H. talaca to tea from its ancestral home of sal forests, and (2) the anti-predatory mechanisms that helped it to build up in tea plantations. Studies were made on the role of the regulating agents of the eggs and caterpillars of the pest and responses of caterpillars to different predator-like stimuli (predatory wasps, ants and birds) and mechanical vibrations. Eggs collected from the fields were reared in the laboratory to study egg parasitization and monitored in the field to study the role of natural predators. Prolonged drought and inconsistent rainfall influenced the range expansion of H. talaca. In tea plantations, female moths preferred to conceal the eggs in the scaly bark of shade trees. Excluding woodpeckers, H. talaca eggs were scarcely attacked by other natural enemies. The caterpillars dropped off the plant in response to potential predators and assumed a deimatic ‘U’ or ‘S’ shape, and remained motionless when stimulated by mechanical vibration. This study suggests that the lack of specialized natural enemies helped H. talaca to build up in the tea plantations of NE India in a short period of time.

Keywords

Hyposidra talacaanti-predatory behaviourclimatic changerange expansiontea plantationNortheastern India
Type
Research Paper
Information
International Journal of Tropical Insect Science , Volume 31 , Issue 4 , December 2011 , pp. 242 - 248
Copyright
Copyright © ICIPE 2011

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