PROFESSOR JAYASHANKAR TELANGANA STATE AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY

Agricultural College, Warangal

Course title: Management of beneficial insects

Course number: ENTO-332
Credits: 2(1+1)
Lecture Outlines
THEORY:

S.No. Topic
1. Importance of beneficial insects, role of pollinators in cross-pollination. Apiculture:
Beekeeping as an industry, species of honeybees- Little bee, Dammar bee, Indian honey
bee, European bee and Rock bee.
2. Brief Morphology and bee-biology- Life cycle and caste distinction in all stages of
European and Indian honey bee
3. Commercial methods of rearing, equipment used-types of beehives & their description,
equipment for handling of bees & swarm catching; honey extraction equipment
4. Bee colony activities and seasonal management- starting of new colony-location, site,
catching a swarm, transferring a colony, replacement of queen, combining colonies,
swarm prevention, colony management in different seasons
5. Bee pasturage, bee foraging and communication. Honey extraction, bee products and
their uses
6. Bee enemies and their diseases: Insect pests like greater wax moth, lesser wax moth,
wax beetle, wasps, black ants, birds etc.; their identification marks, nature & extent of
damage-prevention & control. Important bee diseases-bacterial, fungal & viral diseases-
detection, prevention &control
7. Moriculture-Botanical description of mulberry plant, establishment of mulberry
garden- planting season, land preparation, planting material, raising nursery .
8. Planting under rainfed and irrigated conditions. Pests & diseases in mulberry & their
management
9. Sericulture- Brief history of sericulture in India, kinds of silkworms, their systematic
position, brief life cycle & distribution, morphology and classification of mulberry
silkworm; silk glands
10. Silkworm rearing- Grainage, chawki rearing and late age rearing
11. Mounting and harvesting of cocoons
12. Uses of silk & its by-products, economics of silk production. Pests of silkworm: Uzifly
& its control.
13. Silkworm diseases: Protozoan, viral, bacterial & fungal diseases, prevention& control
disinfection & hygiene.
14. Lac culture: Lac growing areas in India, sps. of lac insects,morphology, biology, host
plants, lac production- seed lac, button lac, shellac. Identification of major parasites and
predators of lac
15 Predators and Parasitoids: Insect orders bearing predators & parasitoids used in insect
control.
16. Important species of pollinators, weed killers and scavengers and their importance in
agriculture.
PRACTICALS:
S.No. Topic
1. Study of important species of honey bees and caste of honey bees.
2. & 3. Study of different types of beehives, beekeeping appliances & seasonal management of bees
4. Study of enemies & diseases of honey bees
5. Study of bee pasturage, foraging and communication in bees.
6. Study of mulberry varieties and preparation of planting material of mulberry.
7. & 8. Raising of mulberry nursery & planting of mulberry in main field
9. Study of methods of harvesting and preservation of leaves
10. Study of different species of mulberry & non-mulberry silkworms
11. Rearing equipment and appliances used in sericulture
12. Dissection of silkworm larvae for study of silk glands
13. Study of lac insect, types of lac and host plants
14. Collection & identification of important pollinators, weedkillers and scavengers
15 Visit to silkworm rearing station and reeling unit
16. Visit to biocontrol laboratory.

REFERENCES:

 Abrol, D.P.2010. Bees and Bee keeping in India. Kalyani Publishers, Ludhiana. Pp450
 David, B.V and Kumara Swami, T. 2016. Elements of Economic Entomology, Popular
Book Depot, Madras. Pp536
 Ganga, G and Sulochana Chetty, J. 2008. An introduction to sericulture. Oxford and IBH
Publishing Co.Pvt.Ltd., New Delhi. Pp160
 Gautam, R.D.2008. Biological Pest Suppression
 Ghorai, N. 1995. Lac culture in India. International Books & Periodicals Supply Service.
 Jolly, M.S. 1987. Appropriate sericulture techniques . International center for training and
research in tropical sericulture, Mysore. Pp209
 Krishnaswami, S., Narasimma, M.N., Suryanarayan, S.K and Kumararaj,S. 1995. Silkworm
Rearing. Sericulture Manual 2. Oxford and IBH Publishing Co.Pvt.Ltd., New Delhi. Pp150
 Mishra, R.C.1995. Honeybees and their management in India. ICAR, New Delhi.
 Patnaik, R.K.2008. Mulberry Cultivation
 Rangaswami, G., Narasimhanna, M.N., Kasiviswanatham, K., Sastry, C.R and Jolly, M.S.
1995. Mulberry Cultivation. Sericulture Manual 2. Oxford and IBH Publishing
Co.Pvt.Ltd.,New Delhi. Pp150
 Sailesh Chattopadhyay. 2011. Introduction to lac and lac culture. Tech.
Bulletin.FBTI:01/2011
 Abrol, D.P.2010. Bees and Bee keeping in India. Kalyani Publishers, Ludhiana. Pp450
 David, B.V and Kumara Swami, T. 2016. Elements of Economic Entomology, Popular
Book Depot, Madras. Pp536
 Ganga, G and Sulochana Chetty, J. 2008. An introduction to sericulture. Oxford and IBH
Publishing Co.Pvt.Ltd., New Delhi. Pp160
 Gautam, R.D.2008. Biological Pest Suppression
 Ghorai, N. 1995. Lac culture in India. International Books & Periodicals Supply Service.
 Jolly, M.S. 1987. Appropriate sericulture techniques . International center for training and
research in tropical sericulture, Mysore. Pp209
 Krishnaswami, S., Narasimma, M.N., Suryanarayan, S.K and Kumararaj,S. 1995. Silkworm
Rearing. Sericulture Manual 2. Oxford and IBH Publishing Co.Pvt.Ltd., New Delhi. Pp150
 Mishra, R.C.1995. Honeybees and their management in India. ICAR, New Delhi.
 Patnaik, R.K.2008. Mulberry Cultivation
 Rangaswami, G., Narasimhanna, M.N., Kasiviswanatham, K., Sastry, C.R and Jolly, M.S.
1995. Mulberry Cultivation. Sericulture Manual 2. Oxford and IBH Publishing
Co.Pvt.Ltd.,New Delhi. Pp150
 Sailesh Chattopadhyay. 2011. Introduction to lac and lac culture. Tech.
Bulletin.FBTI:01/2011
 THEORY STUDY MATERIAL

ENTO-332 (1+1) – MANAGEMENT OF BENEFICIAL INSECTS ( V Dean’s)

COMPILED BY

Dr.A.VENKAT REDDY, Professor (Ento)

Dr. CH.ANUSHA, Assistant Professor ( Ento)

DEPARTMENT OF ENTOMOLOGY
AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, WARANGAL
PROFESSOR JAYASHANKAR TELANGANA STATE AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY
Lr.no.1. Importance of beneficial insects, role of pollinators in cross-pollination. Apiculture:
Beekeeping as an industry, species of honeybees- Little bee, Dammar bee, Indian honey bee,
European bee and Rock bees.
Importance of beneficial insects and role of pollinators in cross – Pollination:

Insects may be beneficial to humans in various ways, directly or indirectly. The most
important beneficial species are those whose products are of immense commercial value. The
insects which bring about pollination of crops are of considerable importance. There are other
beneficial insects which are used as food, for biological control of insect pests and plants, soil
scavengers, in medicine and research and for aesthetic value. Following are the important
beneficial insects.

1. Insects producing commercially valuable products: Honey bees, silk worms, Lac
insects, pela wax scale, cochineal scale, certain gall forming insects.
2. Insect pollinators.
3. Entomophagous insects.
4. Weed killers.
5. Soil builders.
6. Scavengers.
7. Insects as Human food.
8. Insects of Educational and scientific value.
9. Insects of Medicinal value.
10. Insects as Source of dyes.
11. Insects of Aesthetic value.
1. Insects of Commercially valuable products: The best known insects which provide
commercially valuable products are the honey bees, silk worms, lac insect, wax scale.
a) Honey bees: There are four species of honey bee, viz; Apis cerena indica, Apis florae,
Apis dorsata and Apis mellifera; The first three are indigenous and the last one has been
introduced and acclimatized in India. The honey yield of A.mellifera averages 50 – 100
Kg per colony per year as composed to very yield of (3.6 – 4.5 kg in hills and 1.3 – 2.2
in plains). The world honey production is estimated at about …….. tones. China is the
world’s largest honey producer (---tonnes) accounting for 20% of the total. In India, the
production of honey is estimated at about …… tonnes out of which ……… tonnes is
exported. There are about … million honey bee colonies in India, out of which over …..
lakh are A. mellifera colonies. The Punjab state has the distinction of producing highest
honey ( …… tonnes) (25% of the total honey produced in India).

In addition, bees wax is produced at the rate of about 1 Kg for every 50 – 100 Kg of
honey., its value varies between one to three times that of honey. There is also a significant
world trade in pollen in the health – food industry. Other products that are produced by
honey bees include propolis (bee glue), bee venom (used to desensitize patients with
 severe allergies to bee stings) and royal jelly which is usued in certain food supplements.
The bee pollen is collected by the pollen trap from ingoing forager bees. It is a rich protein
source and complete and good supplement in diet. Royal jelly is secreted by nurse bees
which is milky and light pale, in colour. It is used as an ingredient of skin care products
which helps in reducing wrinkles and work as anti-aging.
b) Silkworms: There are four species of silk worms in India, which can be exploited for
commercial silk production. These are mulberr silk worm, Bombyx, mori, Tasar
silkworm, Antheraea paphia, Muga silk worm, Antheraea assama; and Eri silkworm,
Philasomia ricini among which the first one is the most important. The world silk
productions is about …. tonnes. At present China is the leading producers of silk with
about 70% of the world total followed by India and Japan. The total production of raw
silk from all the four species of silkworms in India is about … tonnes.
c) Lac insect: The lac insect, Kerria, lacca, is a scale insect endemic to India and S.E.
Asia that secretes hard encrusstation about itself a coating of lac as a protective
covering, which may be more than 1 cm. thick. It is of brown colour usually these
insects grow on Acacia trees in India and Burma. Lac is still in use as dyes, inks,
polishes, sealing waxes. The twigs on which the insects rest are collected and either
used to spread the insects to new areas or ground up and heated to separate lac. The lac
is a component of shellac. The important lac producing countries are India and
Thailand. India produce ……. tonner of lac.
d) Pela wax scale: The pela wax scale, Ericerus pela has been used in China for
commercial production of Chinese wax. It is the second instar males that produce
economically valuable wax. Most of this wax is used in the manufacture of candles.
However, with the discovery of other waxes (particularly paraffin wax), interest in
China was declined. It is used for variety of horticultural, industrial and pharmaceutical
purposes, viz; grafting agent for fruit trees, insulation of electri cables and equipments,
manufacture of molds for precision instruments, production of high-gloss, wax paper
and coating candles etc.
e) Cohineal insect: A scale insect Dactylopius coccus is found in Mexico and Central
America on prickly pear cacti. Cochineal pigment is extracted from this insect. It is used
as medicine, body paints and textile dye. The cochineal pigment is important for the
intensity and permanency of colors. It is very costly because of its scarcity, so it is used
in only the finest fabrics. Now a days, aniline dyes have taken place of cochineal in
textile industries which in very economic. This is still used as colors in foods,
beverages, cosmetics (lip sticks) and art products.
f) Production of tannic acid: Tannic acid was first produced by an abnormal outgrowths
found in oak trees in Asia Known as Allepo gall. Tiny wasps (Fam: Cynipidae) secrete
some chemical and in response of it the tree produce gall tissues. Tannic acid is used in
the dying, in leather industries for tanning and manufacture of inks.
2. Insect Pollinators: Insect pollinators are flower visiting insects that forage on flowering
plants to obtain food (nectar, pollen). Pollinators are attracted to plants by color, odor and
flower shape and pattern. Many species of insects and plants have evolved a mutualistic
 relationship, in which plants produce nectar and pollen for use by insects, while the later
provides a transport system for effective cross – pollination. In the self pollinated plants,
pollen grains from anthers automatically fall on to their stigma. However, even these plants
may produce more and better fruits or seeds by cross – pollination than by self –
pollination. In the case of cross – pollinated crops, the chief agents which carry the pollen
from plant to plant for pollination are the wind and the insects. More than two – thirds of all
the flowering plants depend upon insects for pollination. Insect pollination results in a
uniform crop and in some cases in the improvement in the quality of fruits. It has been
estimated that roughly one-third of the World’s agricultural production relies either directly
or indirectly on insect pollination.

Nectar is secreted by the insect pollinated flowers attract insect. As they visit flowers for
nectar, the pollen gets dusted all over the body and transferred to the stigma of the flower they visit,
thus bringing about pollination. The important pollinators are the honey bees, solitary bees like
Xylocopa, Andrena, Halticus, and bumble bees, Bombus Spp, other insects are the stingless bees
(Trigona Spp), wasps, many kinds of flies (Syrphus, Bombylius, Sacrophoga), beetles, black ants,
thrips, butterflies and moths like Acherantia Spp. Weevil Elaedobius kamerunicus (Coleoptera;
Curculionidae) a great role in pollination of oil palm. Bumble bees are generally too few in
number to serve as effective pollinatiors in nature. However, they are valuable in the case of crops
whose flowers are large enough, as cotton and lady’s finger, to facilitate pollen transfer and where
the corollas are long and tubular with deep seated nectaries in which case short tongued bees may
not be of any value.

The potentiality of honey bees can be imagined from the fact that members of a colony visit
about 100 flowers during a field trip and make about four million fields trips. Fruits like apple,
pears, plums, black berry, straw berry, citrus, mango, fig, grapes papaya, vegetables, like
asparagus, brinjal, melons, lady’s finger, cucumbers, pumpkins, cabbage, cauliflower, onion,
tomato and oil seeds like rape, mustard, sunflower, seed crops like clorer, fennel, pepper, sunflower
and many ornamentals depend upon honey bees for pollination. Some plants like many fruits
particularly figs, peas, beans, tomatoes, sunflower, Chry santhemum would produce no fruits
unless pollinated by insects. In India, it has been found that visit by honey bees resulted in
magnificent increase in yield of agricultural and horticultural crops. Realizing the importance of
honey bees in pollination of crops bee colonies are being hired out to orchard growers. It is usually
recommended that five colonies are maintained for 2 ha of crops. Increase in yield due to
pollination by honey bees:

S.No. Crop Increase in yield (%)

1 Mustard 128.1 – 157.8

2 Rape seed 12.8 – 139.3

3 Sunflower 21 – 3400

4 Niger 60.7 – 173

 5 Berseem 24.3 – 33150

6 Egyptian 16 – 24
cotton

7 Apple 180 – 6950

8 Pears 240 – 6014

9 Straw berries 17.4 – 91.9

10 Orange 47 – 900

11 Citrus 7 – 33.3

12 Guava 70 - 140

3. Entomophagous insects: Entomophagous insects are those which feed upon other insects
destroying our crops and stored grains. They constitute the greatest single factor to check
the phytophagous insects from gaining over whelming predominance over other animals.
Entomophagous insects can be divided into two groups, viz., predators and parasitoids.

Predators: A predator is usually larger than its prey, kills its prey and requires more than
one prey to complete its development. They are usually active in habits and have structural
adaptations for catching the prey with well developed sense organs and capacity for swift
movements. Many predators remain stationary and suddenly seize the prey when it comes
within its reach, whereas others capture the prey while on its wings. Some of them have
cryptic colorations and deceptive markings as in preying mantids and robber flies. The
insect predators are spread over a wide range of orders including Coleopteran, Neuroptera,
diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Dictyoptera etc.

S.No. Order Species Feeds on (prey)

1 Coleoptera Lady bird beetles Aphids, coccids and other

(Coccinellidae) – Brumus, soft bodied insects
Scymmnus Spp

Vedalia beetle, Rodolia Cottony cushion scale, Icerya

cardinalis purchasi

Cryptolaemus montrozieri Scales and mealy bugs

Menochilus sexmaculate Aphids and mealy bugs

 Chilocoris nigritis Coconut scales

Ground beetle (Carabidae), Coconut black headed

Callida splendidula caterpillar

Tiger beetle, Cicindela spp Variety of insects

2 Diptera Adult robber flies (Asilidae) Variety of insects

larva of Hover flies (Syrphidae) Aaphids

3 Hymnemoptera Wasps (Vespidae) mud wasps Various insects caterpillars

(Vespidae) Digger Wasps
(Sphecidae) Ants (Formicidae)

4 Neuroptera Larva of aphid lions/green lace Aphids, psyllids, coccids,

wings (Chrysopidae) jassids

5 Dictyoptera Preying mantiad (Mantidae) Caterpillars, grasshoppers,

Mantis, religiosa wasps, spiders

6 Odonata Naiads of dragon flies Aquatic insects s

Adults of dragon flies flies, moths, mosquitoes

7 Hemiptera Stink bug, Ecanthana furcellata Larvae of Red hairy

(Pentatomidae) caterpillar

Assasin bug,Harpactor costalis Red cotton bug

(Reduvidae)

Parasitoids: A parasite is an organism which is usually much smaller than its host and single
individual usually does not kill the host. A parasitoid is a special kind of parasite which is often
about the same size as its host, kills its host and requires only one host for development into a free
– living adult. The majority of the parasitoids utilized in biological control of insect pests belong to
two orders, namely hymenoptera (Ichneumonidae, Braconidae, Eulophidae, Trichogrammatidae)
and diptera (Tachnidae). Some examples are:

S.No. Order Species Feeds on (host)

1 Hymenoptera Family: Ichnnumonidae: Isotomia javensis, Sugarcane top shoot

Xanthopimpla punctata borer, rice stem borer
sorghum stem borer

Family: Braconidae: Bracon brevicornis, Coconut black headed

Cotesia flavipes caterpillar larvae of
stem borers
 Family: Encyrtidae, Oenocyrtus pyrillae Eggs of sugarcane
pyrilla.

Family: Eulophidae: Tetrastichus Eggs of rice stem

borer

Trichospilus pupivora Pupae of coconut

black headed
caterpillars, maize
borers

2 Diptera Family: Tachnidae: Spoggosia bezziana Maggots feed on

coconut black headed
caterpillar

Actia monticola Spodoptera

Poelomyia setosa Caster semi-looper

4. Weed Killers: Weeds are unwanted plants that have been a menace in many countries by
spreading to large areas of fertile land, quite many insects feed upon the weeds, just as they
do on cultivated plants. A successful weed killer insect should have following desirable
traits.
1. Should not itself be a pest of cultivated plants and should not even at a later date turn for
attack the useful crops.
2. Should be effective in damaging and controlling weeds.
3. Should preferably be a borer or internal feeder of the weed.
4. Should be able to multiply in good numbers without being affected by parasitoids and
predators.

In many cases, these insect have contributed much towards eradication of the weeds or at
least keeping them under check.

S.No. Name of the weed Name of the weed Remarks

killer

1 Prickly pear (Optunia Spp.) Pyralid moth – In Australia it

Cactoblastis cactorum became an
obtained from extremely
Argentina aggressive weed,
infesting 25 million
 ha of cultivable land

2 Opuntia dillenii Cochineal insect, In India

Dactylopius
tomentosus

3 Lantana camara Lace bug – Telenomia In India

scrupulosa,
Seedfly – Ophiomyia
lantanae from central
America origin

4 St. John’s Wort or Kalamath – Leaf feeding beetle,

Hypericum perforatum Chrysolina

5 Congress grass or carrot weed Beetle – Zyyogramma

– Parthenium – bicolorata

6 Water fern – Salvinia molesta Weevil – Cryptobagus

singularis

5. Soil builders: Many insects during one or more of their life stages live inside the soil and
some in the tunnels made by them. Insects that have been observed in the soils are ants,
beetles, bees, larvae of flies, crickets, cutworms, collembolan and pupae of moths. They
usually remain confined to the top 15cm of soils, some of the insects like ants, termites,
bees, crickets are known to build nests.
During the process of making tunnels and burrowing into the soil, soil particles get
disintegrated, sub soil is brought to the surface resulting in turning of the soil – thus
burrowing activity facilitates aeration, drainage and turnover the soil. The condition of the
soil is improved by producing humus as a result of consuming organic matter and passing it
out as waste. Soil is enriched by the addition of insect saliva and decomposition of exuviae
and dead bodies of the insects.
6. Scavengers: Many insects feed on dead and decaying animal and plant matter, and thus
accelerate the return of elements from the earth’s surface the dead and decaying bodies,
which would otherwise be a health hazard, they are referred to as scavengers. It is a
common site to see insects collecting over bodies of dead - road side animals and eating
them. If the carcasses are not quickly eaten away by the insects, the environment of entire
earth will get filled with stench of rotting making it impossible for humans to live. Linnaeus
did not exaggerate when he had said that a dead horse can be devoured faster by hungry
flies than a hungry lion. In addition to cleaning filth from human habitations, these insects
help to convert these bodies into simpler substances where they become easily available
food for growing plants. There are two groups of insects (coleopteran and diptera) which
 perform major duties of scavengers. In addition, termites ((Isoptera) feed upon dead wood
and ants live upon dead animal and decaying vegetable matter.

S.No Order Scavenger Feedon

.

1 Coleoptera Dung/chafer beetle Dung and decaying vegetable

(Scarabidae) matter

Rove beetles Dung, decaying animal or plant

(Staphylinidae) matter

Skin beetles Dead animal matter

(Dermestidae)

Carrion beetle (Silphidae) Dead animal and vegetable

refuse.

Darkling beetle Dung, dead animal, plant

(Tenebrionidae) matter

2 Diptera It is only the larvae which Decaying wood, manure,

feeds upon decaying matter vgetable and fungus growth.
Ex: fungus gnats (Mayceto
philidae)

Dady-long-legs (Tipulidae) Decaying vegetable matter

Midges of gants Decaying vegetable matter

(Chironomidae)

Hover flies All kinds of delaying matter

(Syrphidae)

7. Insects as food: Insects play a key role in energy flow through the ecosystem, principally as
herbivores but also as predators and parasitoids, which may themselves be consumed by
higher level insectivorous vertebrates. In turn, some of these vertebrates , are eaten by
humans. Frogs, many reptiles are well known for eating insects. Some highly prized game
birds and fish depend upon insects for a large proportion of their food. Chickens and turkey
can be raised almost exclusively on insects under proper conditions.

In many parts of the World, from ancient time to the present day, insects have been
extensively consumed by man. The eating of insects by man or othe animals is known as
entomophagy. Insects are a rich source of essential nutrients including proteins, amino acids, fats,
minerals, and vitamins. Grasshoppers, Crickets, beetles, caterpillars, pupae of moths and
butterflies, termites, large ants, aquatic bugs, cicadas and bee brood and pupae have been prized as
food for most of the primitive races of the world including India.

S.No. Name of Insets consumed as food

the country

1 Mexico Bugs, beetles, ants, bees, moths and butterflies. Maguey worm
(Aegiale hesperiasis) are commonly eaten and exported to other
countries.

2 USA Crickets, grass hoppers, shore flies, pupae, caterpillars, ants

3 Australia Bogong moth (Agrotis infusa and caterpillars of witchery moth

(Xyleutes leuchmochla)

4 Africa Mopane caterpillars, termites ,desert locusts

5 Asia Giant water bug (Lethocerus indicus), larvae and cacoons of

silkworm, grass hoppers

6 Japan Rice grass hoppers, locusts

8. Educational and Scientific value: In view of their simple food and other requirements, short
duration time high fecundity, many insects can be reared cheaply and easily under laboratory
conditions. These attributes of insects make them ideal tools for use in teaching and research.
Studies on insects, have provided us with much of the basic knowledge of a animal and cell
physiology.

S.No. Name of the Insect Uses

1 Fruit fly – Drosophila As a test insect in advanced genetic

melanogaster research an alternative to guinea pigs,
rats, peas and primeroses

2 Bugs, flies and other For scientific detection of crimes

insects (Forensic entomology)

3 Butterflies and other Used as good indicators for climate

insects changes, pollution of water bodies

9.Insects in Forensic study: The term forensic entomology is generally applied to the study of
insects and other arthropods found in and on human bodies suspected of criminal action to help in
the investigation and initiation of civil proceedings. Based on the species and stage of insects,
entomologists are able to predict the time and location of crime. More importantly they indicate
whether a suspect is actually involved in the crime or not.

Insects provide useful indicators for assessing the status of biodiversity over time. Insects
respond to environmental changes more rapidly than do vertebrate indicators. Butterflies for
example may be good indicators for climate changes, as they are strongly influenced by local
weather pattern, micro climate and light levels: In addition, insects can be good indicators of
pollution of water bodies. The number and kind of insects that are able to derive in the polluted
waters will be an index of pollution; less the number of surviving insects, the more is the pollution
of water body.

10.Medicinal Value: Several insects and their products have find their use in medicine.

The stings of honey bee are said to have remedial value in the treatment of arthritis and
rheumatism. A specific medicine (Homeopathic), “Apis’ is extracted from the honey bees by
digesting the excited bees in alcohol and is used against certain diseases like urinary irritations,
diphtheria etc.

Cantheridin is a substance found in the blister beetle, Lytta vesicatoria and is useful
internally treating certain urinary diseases and externally as a vesicant and counter irritant. It is also
probably the world’s best known and most widely abused aphrodisiac. It is also known to be a tonic
for hair. However, it has profound physiological effects on human body and its use in medicine is
how banned because of its high toxicity.

Dr.William Boric, a renowned homeopath, mention two drugs in his Meteria medica, that
are prepared from cockroaches, Blatta americana for tiredness and urinary ailments and Blatta
orientalis (for asthma).

Caterpillar fungus, prepared from caterpillars of Cordyceps simensis is used as a tonic by

the Chinese athletes for strengthening and rejuvenating the body, to relieve stress, protect lungs and
strengthen immune system. Due to its legendary properties, it has been called the Chinese medicine
for eternal youth”

In Europe and West Asian countries, the Aleppo gall of oak is used as a powerful astringent
tonic and antidote for certain poisons.

Maggot therapy, i.e. the use of maggots of certain flies to clean wounds and promote
healing, has been used for centuries in some societies.

Allantoin is a substance isolated from the secretions of fly maggots which seems to have
properties of healing deep wounds.

11.Source of Dyes: The dead and dried bodies of certain insects and the galls produced by certain
insects are a source of natural dyes.
 The beautiful caramine red dye “Cochineal” is obtained from the dried and powdered
bodies of cactus scale insects ((also called the cochineal insects), Dactylopius coccus and
tomentosus which thrive on Opuntia Spp. In India, it thrives on Opuntia dilleni. When the insects
are fully developed, they are brushed off the host plants and killed by hot water or sun drying and
marketed. Cochineal contains 10% caramic acid and is used for coloring beverages, cakes, and
sweets and for dyeing wool, silk and leather where permanent coloring in required. But, with the
advent of synthetic dyes, cochineal is now getting out of use.

Galls are tumorous out growths on the surface of the plants induced by certain gall insects
that inflict injuries. They yield valuable materials like tannic acid and dyes. Tannic acid occurs in
high percentage (30 – 70%) in these galls. This acid has been used for centuries for tanning animal
skin. Dyes obtained from some galls make the finest and most permanent link. African Somali
women use gall dyes for tattooing, Aleppo galls used for dying wool, hair and skin.

12.Aesthetic value: Insects have catered to the aesthetic needs of man for a long time – some of
the insects are extremely beautiful and they rivel flowers and beautiful birds in this respect.

- Their shapes, wing color, and patterns have served as models for artists, florists, textile
designers and interior decorators.
- Because of their beauty, certain groups, especially butterflies, moths, beetles are some times
collected as a hobby.
- Some insects are embedded in clear materials from which jewellery, place mats paper
weights etc. are made.
- Ornaments like necklaces are made from whole bodies of some beautiful insects especially
beetles.
- In South Africa and Australia, native people use strings made of beautiful shells of nymphs
of certain scale insects.

Role of pollinators in cross-pollination:

Insect pollinators are flower visiting insects that forage on flowering plants to obtain food
(nectar, pollen). Pollinators are attracted to plants by color, odor and flower shape and
pattern. Many species of insects and plants have evolved a mutualistic relationship, in
which plants produce nectar and pollen for use by insects, while the later provides a
transport system for effective cross – pollination. In the self pollinated plants, pollen grains
from anthers automatically fall on to their stigma. However, even these plants may produce
more and better fruits or seeds by cross – pollination than by self – pollination. In the case
of cross – pollinated crops, the chief agents which carry the pollen from plant to plant for
pollination are the wind and the insects. More than two – thirds of all the flowering plants
depend upon insects for pollination. Insect pollination results in a uniform crop and in some
cases in the improvement in the quality of fruits. It has been estimated that roughly one-
third of the World’s agricultural production relies either directly or indirectly on insect
pollination.
 Nectar is secreted by the insect pollinated flowers attract insect. As they visit flowers for
nectar, the pollen gets dusted all over the body and transferred to the stigma of the flower they visit,
thus bringing about pollination. The important pollinators are the honey bees, solitary bees like
Xylocopa, Andrena, Halticus, and bumble bees, Bombus Spp, other insects are the stingless bees
(Trigona Spp), wasps, many kinds of flies (Syrphus, Bombylius, Sacrophoga), beetles, black ants,
thrips, butterflies and moths like Acherantia Spp. Weevil Elaedobius kamerunicus (Coleoptera;
Curculionidae) a great role in pollination of oil palm. Bumble bees are generally too few in
number to serve as effective pollinators in nature. However, they are valuable in the case of crops
whose flowers are large enough, as cotton and lady’s finger, to facilitate pollen transfer and where
the corollas are long and tubular with deep seated nectaries in which case short tongued bees may
not be of any value.

The potentiality of honey bees can be imagined from the fact that members of a colony visit
about 100 flowers during a field trip and make about four million fields trips. Fruits like apple,
pears, plums, black berry, straw berry, citrus, mango, fig, grapes papaya, vegetables, like
asparagus, brinjal, melons, lady’s finger, cucumbers, pumpkins, cabbage, cauliflower, onion,
tomato and oil seeds like rape, mustard, sunflower, seed crops like clorer, fennel, pepper, sunflower
and many ornamentals depend upon honey bees for pollination. Some plants like many fruits
particularly figs, peas, beans, tomatoes, sunflower, Chry santhemum would produce no fruits
unless pollinated by insects. In India, it has been found that visit by honey bees resulted in
magnificent increase in yield of agricultural and horticultural crops. Realizing the importance of
honey bees in pollination of crops bee colonies are being hired out to orchard growers. It is usually
recommended that five colonies are maintained for 2 ha of crops. Increase in yield due to
pollination by honey bees:

S.No. Crop Increase in yield (%)

1 Mustard 128.1 – 157.8

2 Rape seed 12.8 – 139.3

3 Sunflower 21 – 3400

4 Niger 60.7 – 173

5 Berseem 24.3 – 33150

6 Egyptian 16 – 24
cotton

7 Apple 180 – 6950

8 Pears 240 – 6014

9 Straw berries 17.4 – 91.9

 10 Orange 47 – 900

11 Citrus 7 – 33.3

12 Guava 70 - 140

Apiculture: Beekeeping as an industry:

Honey and beekeeping have a long history in India. Honey was the first sweet food tasted
by the ancient Indian inhabiting rock shelters and forests. The raw materials for the beekeeping
industry are mainly pollen and nectar that come from flowering plants. Both the natural and
cultivated vegetation in India constitute an immense potential for development of beekeeping.
About 500 flowering plant species, both wild and cultivated, are useful as major or minor sources
of nectar and pollen. Honey has a long history of human consumption, and is most commonly
consumed in its unprocessed state (i.e. liquid, crystallized or in the comb). It is taken as medicine,
eaten as food, or incorporated as an additive in a variety of food and beverages. India has been
known as ‘land of honey.’ Since centuries, honey is used to treat a variety of ailments through a
wide range of applications.
In India beekeeping has been mainly forest based. Thus, the raw material for production of
honey is available free from nature. Bee hives neither demand additional land space nor do they
compete with agriculture or animal husbandry for any input. The beekeeper needs only to spare a
few hours in a week to look after his bee colonies. Beekeeping is therefore ideally suited as a part-
time occupation. Beekeeping constitutes a resource of sustainable income generation to the rural
and tribal farmers. It provides them valuable nutrition in the form of honey, protein rich pollen and
brood. Bee products also constitute important ingredients of folk and traditional medicine. Forest
honey is used in pharmaceutical, food, confectionery, bakery and cosmetic industries.
Varieties of honey:

Rapeseed / Mustard Honey, Eucalyptus Honey, Lychee Honey, Sunflower Honey, Karanj /
Pongamea Honey, Multi-flora Himalayan Honey, Acacia Honey, Wild Flora Honey, Multi and
Mono floral Honey are some of the major varieties of Natural Honey.

Macro benefits of Beekeeping include:

1.Excellent source of employment for the rural unemployed: currently approx. 250,000 farmers in
India are
employed through beekeeping.
2. Provides an excellent source of income for the landless farmers: since beekeeping in migratory
in nature, even the
landless farmers can take up this profession.
3. No farm land is wasted as apiaries are kept on the boundaries and not cultivable land.

4. Increases crop yield by cross ––pollination: can increase yields in some crops by up to 200%.

The per capita consumption of honey in India is just 8 grams, whereas in Germany it is 1800
grams. About sixteen lakh people are directly or indirectly engaged in the bee keeping and allied
 activities. Major honey producing states in the country include Punjab, Haryana, Himachal
Pradesh, UP, Bihar and West Bengal. However, quality honey reportedly comes mainly from the
states of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.

Number of institutions are established to contribute to the development of beekeeping and

disseminate information.

1. The All India Beekeepers’ Association, Kolkata, w.Bengal has made laudable contributions to
the development of beekeeping and has been disseminating information about honey trade through
its informative publication Indian Bee Journal.
2. Agricultural Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), New Delhi under the aegis
of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, government of India, is the nodal agency to promote
exports of honey.
3. Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd (TRIFED), New Delhi
has been playing an important role by providing training to tribals in the scientific cultivation and
harvesting of wild honey. A lot of work has also been done on honey related issues like Indian bees
and beekeeping by individuals, agricultural experts, agricultural colleges and institutions.
3. The Central Bee Research and Training Institute, Pune ---- and
4. Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Mumbai not only contributed to the science
of bees, bee plants and beekeeping but also developed several appropriate technologies suited to
Indian beekeeping.
5. In India the Export Inspection Council (EIC) under the Union Ministry of Commerce arranges
for tests on residues, antibiotics, etc., in the honey meant.
6. All India Coordinated project on honey bee research and training at Bee research station,
Nagrota, Himachal Pradesh.

The first bee keeping research station was established in Punjab in 1945 by ICAR.

NATIONAL BEE BOARD, New Delhi:

Main objective is overall development of Beekeeping by promoting Scientific Beekeeping

in India to increase the productivity of crops through pollination and increase the Honey production
for increasing the income of the Beekeepers/ Farmers.

1. Overall development of scientific beekeeping in India by popularizing state of the art technologies
through the governmental schemes of National Horticulture Mission and Horticulture Mission for
North East and Himalayan States in the country.
2. Development of nucleus stock production, capacity building programmes and training of bee
breeders and beekeepers, processing, research work, etc. and conducting of seminars.
3. Dissemination of information on technological advancement in the field of beekeeping through its
various publications and the quarterly magazine “Bee World”.
4. Initiating steps for quality honey production and other bee hive products for overseas and domestic
markets besides enhancing productivity of various crops through bee pollination.
5. Increasing the employment opportunity in rural sector and thus enhancing the ancillary income of
the beekeepers & farmers.

1. Number of bee keepers in India- 1,50,000

 2. No. of bee hives- 6,00,000
3. Average production of honey/bee hive/year- 8.5Kg

Exports:

India has exported 25,780.74 MT of natural honey to the world for the worth of Rs. 356.28
crore during the year of 2012-13. Major Export Destinations (2012-13) are United States, Saudi
Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen Republic and Morocco.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

There are over 85,000 families in Himachal Pradesh engaged in beekeeping and the state
produces 1600 tonnes of honey annually. The state is becoming the biggest producer of Himalayan
honey. Under the bee keeping programme, 530.64 MT of honey has been produced upto
31.12.2013 in the State.1 "Himachal Pradesh, owing to its varied agro-climate, has a great variety
of bee forage sources that provide the basis for development of beekeeping industry in the state.
Scientists in the horticulture department trace the state's history of bee-keeping to 1934, when it
was first started in Kullu valley and then in Kangra in 1936. Blessed with immense flora and fauna,
Himachal's quality of honey is of very high grade.

COUNTRY SPECIFICATIONS FOR HONEY TESTING

There are a number of country specifications for honey testing- European union standards,
United States FDA, SASO (Saudi Arabian standards organization), codex / BIS, FSSAI (The Food
Safety and Standards Authority of India, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of
India (FSSAI). Out of all, EU specifications are the most extensive and detailed --accepted to be
the highest industry standard
 In June 2010, the EU banned Indian honey due to a lack of traceability regarding origin,
adulteration, and contamination by heavy metals2 and antibiotics. The US has not banned Indian
honey, but there is strong suspicion that a considerable portion of imports from India are of
Chinese origin. From 2001-2011, US imports of Indian honey increased from 20 MTs to 26,837
MTs.

The European Economic Commission (EEC) has lifted the ban on import of Indian honey, with
effect from November 1, 2011.

Change of Relative Status of Main Honey Producing Countries

In India, production of honey is very low compared to China — the highest producer — which
exports 80,000 tonnes annually compared to India’s 7,000 tonnes. Its consumption is also very low
in India. Honey production in the country is only about 27,000 tonnes a year. It is estimated that
9,000 of honey is produced from six bee colonies.

According to a survey, there is Rs 1,500 crore world market for health foods and India’s share is
stated to be negligible. In the world market the demand for honey is around one million tonnes.
There is an immense possibility for India to increase its export share from 7,000 tonnes to three
lakh tonnes if more people invest in bee colonies.

Constraints in the Industry:

1. Quality testing facilities are also not easily available to beekeepers and packers in India.
The European Union will not import honey from countries where the use of pesticides is not
regulated and where samples are not specifically tested for insecticidal residues.
2. Some honey importing countries also insist on a certificate to the effect that the honey has
been procure from disease-free colonies. However, there is no arrangement for diseases
surveillance.
3. Honey is often stored in undesirable and inappropriate containers which deteriorate the
quality.
4. Above all, the processing of honey has to be of high standards so that quality deterioration
is minimal. Imports from China and Argentina, the two large exporters, are now being
avoided due to the poor quality of honey and many counties are turning towards new
exporters like India. Europe, the USA and Japan are the major honey importers. India needs
to build the confidence of world buyers.
5. The price, supply, purity and service are the major determinants in the honey industry. The
sale price of honey by beekeepers in India varies from Rs 25 to Rs 45 per kg whereas in
countries like the USA, Argentina and Brazil, the price varies from Rs 55 to Rs 80 a kg. the
beekeepers are thus getting a lesser price for their produce in India as compared to other
countries.

Future prospects

1. Honey industry in the country can well become a major foreign exchange earner if
international standards are met.
 2. Beekeeping is an age-old tradition in India but it is considered a no-investment profit giving
venture in most areas.Of late it has been recognised that it has the potential to develop as a
prime agri-horticultural and forest-based industry.
3. Honey production is a lucrative business and it generates employment.
4. With the use of modern collection, storage, beekeeping equipment, honey processing plants
and bottling technologies the potential export market can be tapped.

Export strategies:

Indian honey offers tremendous export potential. For tapping its potential, there is need to
chalk out suitable export strategy. Some of the points which merit attention of the policy makers in
this respect include:
Application of advanced technology for collection, and processing of honey
Adhering strictly to the quality standards including health regulations laid down by markets such
as the European Union, Japan and the USA
Recognition of bee keeping as agro-industry
Priority allocation and concessions to be made applicable for material needed for beekeeping,
like wood for bee boxes, sugar for supplementing feeds to bees and medicines for bees’ diseases
Campaigning abroad about quality of our honey
Developing an efficient export marketing network to optimise the production and exports
Creating an Indian logo as a joint effort of exporters, APEDA and the Ministry of Commerce and
Industry, government of India. The brand equity thus created can be better marketed for higher
sales realisation.

Timely implementation of the above steps is likely to pave the way for a quantum jump in
the export of honey from the country in the coming years.

Species of honeybees: Honey bees are social and polymorphic insects and they live in colonies.
Their taxonomic classification is as follows.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Super family: Apoidea
Family: Apidae
Tribe: Apini
Genus: Apis
There are five species of honey bees in India. They are the giant rock bee (Apis dorsata F.),
the little bee (Apis florea F.), and the Dammer bee or mosquito bee, (Melipona/Trigona iridipennis
Dal) and Indian/ Asian honeybee (Apis cerena indica). European or the Italian bee Apis mellifera is
extensively reared. It is very closely similar to (Apis indica).
1. Rock bee: Apis dorsata:It is also called the rock bee or the giant bee. It is the largest of the
honey bees, measuring about 20mm in length and not a domesticated species. It is a very good
honey gatherer. It builds an open single comb of huge size about a meter in diameter. The comb is
always built in open places and huge from inaccessible branches of trees, along the sides of steep
rocks in the forest and even from the walls, rafters and other parts of buildings, that’s why theses
bees could not be domesticated up to now. The comb measures 1.5-2.0 meters across. It produces
plenty of honey and the annual yield from a colony is about 35-40 kg. The rock bee honey
represents a major portion of the honey sold in our markets. It is impossible to domesticate it
because of its irritable and ferocious nature. On disturbance, it attacks human beings and domestic
animals, and some times even death may occur.
2. Little bee: Apis florea: It is known as little bee since it is the smallest of three species of Apis
and is about 7 mm in length.. It is seen only in the plaints. It also builds single but small combs on
bushy plants and corners of roofs. It yields very little honey, about 0.5 to 1.0 kg. per year from a
colony. The honey produced by these bees is sweetest one. This species can not tolerate cold,
therefore, is not found in hills.
3. Indian honey bee: Apis cerena indica:It is also called the Indian bee found both in the forests
as well as in plains throughout our country is a domesticated species. It is smaller than rock bee but
larger than little bee. This bee builds many parallel combs in the cavities and hollows of trees,
caves and such other hidden sites. It is mild and is the only form capable of being domesticated and
is commonly reared in South India. The annual yield of honey is 8-10 Kg per colony. This species
is more prone to absconding and swarming and is very susceptible to wax moth
4. Dammer bee: Melipona iridipennis:The dammer bee is very tiny with a vestigial sting and is
different from the former three species in appearance and habits. It inhabits crevices in walls and
hollow trunks of trees. The comb is made up of a dark material called ‘cerumen’ which is a mixture
of wax and earth or resin. It is very poor honey yielder ranging from 400-500 gm/colony/year.
5. European bee: Apis mellifera: It is also called the European bee or the Italian bee and was
introduced in India in 1962 by Prof. A.S. Atwal. Initially, the bee was introduced into Himachal
Pradesh and Punjab, but now it has acclimatized and spread to almost all the states of India. Prof.
A.S. Atwal is called the “Father of Modern bee Keeping” in view of the remarkable success of
A.mellifera in India. It is originated in Italy and it is a domesticated species. It is the Italian bee
which swarms less and has good honey gathering qualities, yielding about 45-101 kg per year. This
species introduced to south parts of India after the catastrophic out break of Thai sac brood virus
disease to the Indian bee colonies.. It is called as “Darling” of bee keeping.

It is one of the most preferred bees for honey bee farm because:
1. It has a gentle temper.
2. It is less swarming.
3. There is a prolific queen.
4. It is a good honey gatherer.
5. It can protect itself against its enemies except wasps.
6. It adapts very easily to frame hives.

Species of Indian honey bee Rock bee Italian bee Little bee Dammer bee
honey bees /
particulars
Scientific e Apisceranaindica Apisdorsata Apismellifera Apisflorea Melipona sp.
nam Trigona sp.
Habitat Plains and hills Plains and hills Plains Plains Plains
Nature Parallel combs Single comb Parallel combs Single Sac
of comb small like
Temperment Gentle and easy to Ferocious Gentle - -
handle
Honey yield 1 to 2 ½ kg in About 40kg 50-200kg 0.5-1.0kg Difficult to
plains, 4 to 5 kg in extract
Swarming hills
Prone to Prone to Swarmless Prone to honey
-
heavy heavy - heavy
Resistance swarming
Poor propoliser swarming
Guard the hive Guard the swarming
to enemies & helpless against hive except - -
wax moth from
Stinging Sting Sting Sting Does not sting Does not
ability sting but
bites
Lr. No.2 . Brief Morphology and bee-biology- Life cycle and caste distinction in all stages of
European and Indian honey bee

Brief Morphology:
Brief Morphology of honey Bee: The head of honey bee is triangular with two large compound
eyes and three ocelli. The drones head is larger than that of either queen or worker and its
compound eyes are contiguous on the vertex. The number of ommatidia in an eye are about 4000 in
queen, 5,000 in the worker and 8,000 in the drone. The ocelli are located in a triangular anteriorly
on the vertex in the worker and queen but lower in the face of the drone. Bees recognize objects
with their compound eyes, perceive movement and distinguish color and forms. They can
distinguish only yellow, blue, blue-green and ultraviolet and can not see black, red or grey colours.
The antennae is geniculate with a large scape, a small pedicel and 10 flagellar sub-segments in the
females (queen and worker) and 11 in the males (Drone). It accommodates various kinds of sense
organs, chiefly tactile and olfactory.

The mouth parts are of chewing – lapping type (Fig.). The mandibles and labrum are of the
same structure as in the chewing insects. However, the labium, maxillae, and hypopharynx are
integrated to form a sucking proboscis, the labial glossa becoming an elongate hairy extensible
sucking organ which can be rapidly protracted and retracted to reach deep into the nectaries of
tubular flowers. The glossa is curved and inwards forming central cavity. It has a small spoon
shaped flabellum or button at its apex. The length of varies in different castes of honey bees. It is
about 6 mm in workers, 3-5 mm in queen and 4 mm in drones. The labial palpi are long and four
segmented and maxillary palpi are very small. The paraglossa are represented by two concealed
lobes at the base of gloss.

The mandibles vary in their size and shape in three castes. In the worker it is broad at the
base and apex and narrowed in the middle and oblique in its apex; its distal end is concave. The
mandibles of the queen is about the same length as that of the worker but is wider at base and
bilobed distally, the outer surface is clothed more densely with long hairs than in the case of
workers. The mandibles of the drone is smaller than that of either the worker or the queen and the
mandibular hairs are plumose. The mandibles in honey bees are not mainly concerned with feeding
but are put into various other uses. In the worker bee the mandibles, apart from serving as grasping
organ, helps in the ingestion of pollen grains, in manipulation of wax in comb building, in
supporting the proboscis at its base when extended.

The thorax in honey bees, as in other hymenopterous insects, is characterized by the fusion
of the first abdominal segment propodeum with the metathorax. The two wings in each side are
coupled together, during flight, by a row of 25 hooks as hamuli arising from the anterior margin of
the forewings.

The legs of a honey be consists of usual six segments viz., Coxa, trochanter, femur, tibia,
tarsus and pretarsus. Three pairs of legs are modified as follows (Fig.).
S.No. Type Leg Purpose Modifications
modified

1 Antennal Fore legs For cleaning Tibia possess a movable spine, and
cleaning antennae the first tarsal segment with a semi
circular notch.

2 Wax picking Middle leg For picking wax Tibia posses a spine called wax pick
type plates for removing the wax plates from
the ventral side of the abdomen.

3 Pollen basket Hind legs For collecting Inner surface of large tibia has a
and brush pollen and groove and is used as pollen basket
type cleaning body or corbicula for temporary storage
of pollen. First tarsal segment
enlarged and possess stiff hairs
“pecten” all over the surface called
pollen brush.

The second abdominal segment is greatly constricted at its union with the propodeum called
petiole and the rest of the abdomen is called gaster. The gaster consists of six exposed segments in
the females and seven in the males and remaining are concealed and considerably modified. The
ovipositor is well developed and is useful for laying eggs in queen and modified as stinging organ
in the worker and drone with stingless.

Structural Adaptations:

1. Mandibular glands: There is a pair of mandibular glands, one in each side associated with
the mandible. It is large and sac like situated at the base of the mandible. This gland is
supposed to be used for softening the wax. .
2. Lateral pharyngeal glands: These are paired glands situated in the anterior - dorsal
region of the head in the form of long, coiled chain of follicles. These glands are well
developed in the worker, vestigial in queen and absent in the drones. They produce the
nutritive food material called “royal jelly” or “bee silk”, which is used for feeding the larvae
and also queen and drones. Workers in the second week of their life produce the royal jelly
and these bees are called “feeder bees”.
3. Legs: (Mentioned above)
4. Wax glands: Four pairs of was glands are present in the ventral aspect of abdominal
segments 4 to 7. Below these glands, the sterna of these segments show each a pair of large
oval polished areas separated by a median space. These are called wax plates or wax
 mirrors. The secretions of the glands is carried through the cuticle and the wax hardens on
the outer surface of the wax plates. The wax is removed by the hind tarsi.
5. Sting: It is an elaborated and modified ovipositor with poison and serves as an instrument
of defense. The sting consists of a pair of acid glands which meet into poison sac. The
secretions of this gland consist mainly of formic acid which is the venom of the bee’s sting.
6. Scent Glands: These are present in the thin membrane connecting lat two abdominal terga.
The odour produced from these glands are derived from scented waste products of
metabolism.

Honey Bee Biology:

Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : Arthropoda
Class : Insecta
Order : Hymenoptera
Family : Apidae
A colony of honey bees comprises a cluster of several to 60,000 workers (sexually
immature females), a queen (sexually developed female) and a few to several hundred drones
(sexually developed males). A colony normally has only one queen whose sole function is egg
laying. The bees cluster loosely over wax combs, the cells of which are used to store honey
(carbohydrate food) and pollen (protein food) and to rear, young bees to replace old adults.
 Reduction in the amounts of nectar and pollen coming into the hive causes reduced brood
rearing and diminish populations. Depending on the age and egg-laying condition of the queen, the
proportion of old bees in the colony decreases. Propolis collected from the buds of trees is used to
seal all cracks in the hive and reduce the size of the entrance to keep out cold air.
When nectar becomes scarce, the workers drag the drones out of the hive and do not let
them return, causing them to starve to death to eliminate the consumption of honey stores. When
the temperature drops to 570 F, the bees begin to form a light cluster under which brood (eggs,
larvae and pupae) is kept warm – about 930F – with the heat generated by the bees.
Swarming: Swarming is a method of reproduction in which a part of the colony migrates to a new
site to make a new colony. When the first virgin queen is almost ready to emerge and before the
main nectar flow, the colony will swarm during the warmer hours of the day. The old queen and
about half of the bees will rush en- masse out the entrances. After flying around in the air for
several minutes, they cluster on the limb of trees or similar object. This cluster remains for an hour
or so, depending on the time taken to find a new home by scouting bees. When a location is found,
the cluster breaks up and flies to it. On reaching new location combs are quickly constructed, brood
rearing starts, and nectar and pollen are gathered. Swarming takes place under following
conditions.
Abundant food supply, race of bee, age of queen, high density of bees per cubic cm in the
hive (cover 2.5).
Caste Distinction: Honey bees are social insects, living together in highly organized colonies.
Three distinct kinds of honey bees in a colony are queen, workers and drone.
The queen: It is the longest bee in the hive but has the shortest wings, pointed abdomen,
wings only partially cover the body. She is the mother of all other bees. Her most important job is
to lay eggs. She can lay more than 2000 eggs a day. She lay one egg in every cell. Few eggs
scattered among many empty cells or several eggs per cell are signs of problems. Queen lays two
types of eggs: Fertilized eggs and unfertilized eggs.
Workers bees usually rear new queen for one of the three reasons:
1. The former queen left with a swarm.
2. The queen is laying fewer eggs.
3. The colony is over crowded and has no place to expand.
In most animal species the progeny usually leave the parental territory to find their own
family in new territory, but in the bees, the situation is reversed where queen leaves. A colony that
loses its queen suddenly is very upset but soon starts to rear a new one. Worker eggs are raised
quickly built queen cells which hang vertically and are about the size and shape of a peanut shell.
Fertilized egg hatches in three days. The larvae eats a special food called Royal Jelly. The queen
emerges about 8 days later. Newly emerged queen stings the remaining queen cells and fights any
other queens she finds. Queens live about five years with some living as long as nine, but egg
laying drops off significantly after two years. The queen bee never leaves the hive except on two
occasions like mating flights and during swarming.
The worker: These are smaller than queen and drones. A strong colony can have close to
1,00,000 workers. These bees keep the colony going. Worker’s jobs change with their age. Young
bees, called house bees, do their hive chores. They produce wax, and shape into combs, use
propolis to seal cracks, fan their wings to ventilate the hive in summer, controlling temperature and
humidity, guard the hive to keep out raiders, produce honey and royal jelly, feed brood and
cleaning and repairing cells, feed queen and drones.
The older workers or field bees, gather nectar, pollen and water. The average adult workers
lives less than a month.
Day 1-3: Spent cleaning hive and preparing cells for egg laying.
Day 4-6: Become nurse bees, feed worker larvae.
Day 7-14: Secrete Royal jelly, feed queen larvae.
Day 15-20: Receive, exchange nectar, ripe honey, secrete wax, build combs.
From Day 21: Venture down to hive entrance, guard against predators, then becomes
foragers.
The Drone: These are longer than workers but not as long as queens. A drone has
compound eyes that touch each other at the top of the head. They do not have sting or pollen basket
on their legs. Their only function is to fertilize queen and workers develop from fertilized eggs,
drones develop from unfertilized eggs. Drone cells are slightly longer than worker cells. Drones are
conceived for one purpose: to fertilize queens during mating flights.

Queen Drone Worker

1. Relat Large Medium Small

ive size

2. Per 1 50-2000 20,000 – 2.0 lakhs

hive

3. Life 4-5 years 21-90 days 20-40 days

span

4. Sex Female Male Sterile female

5. Func - Kill sisters and mother Mate with - Make comb

tions - Mate with male queen - Tend larva
- Lay eggs @1500/day - Clean hive
(200 K eggs/yr) - Gather nectar, pollen etc.
- Secrete pheromone - Defend colony
(9-hydorxy decenoic acid)
- Egg laying capacity declines
after her 2nd year

Differentiating characters of honey bee castes:

S.No. Queen Drone Workers

1 Fertile female and largest in Fertile male and bigger than Imperfect female
size workers smaller than drone

2 Abdomen extends beyond the It is not so It is not so

closed wings and pendulous

3 Compound eyes normal Large and holoptic Normal

4 Frontal region not reduced Reduced Not reduced

5 Absent Tip of the abdomen

pointed with
ovipositor modified in
to sting

6 Pollen basket absent and wax Absent Present

glands absent

Absconding: Complete desertion of a hive is known as absconding. This may occur due to lack of
water, exhaustion of food store (due to short supply of nectar or robbery of honey), over heating
due to poor ventilation or insulation, constant pest attack (ants, moth) or excessive interference by
the bee keeper. Prior to absconding, the bees drink entire honey and migrate leaving behind combs.
Absconding can be prevented by providing water or sugar solution near the hive particularly during
summer.

Life cycle of Honey Bee:

Honey bees undergo complete metamorphosis through four developmental stages i.e., Egg,
larva, pupa and adult

Egg: Queen lays both fertilized and unfertilized eggs which are similar in size and shape.
Fertilized eggs develop into females ( Worker and Queen) and unfertilized eggs develop into drone
bees. Eggs are laid singly and attached vertically to the bottom of comb. Eggs hatch on 3 rd day.
Larva: After hatching, all the larvae are fed with royal jelly ( bee milk produced by worker
bee) for 3 days. Thereafter, the worker and drone larvae are fed with nectar and pollen. A queen
larvae is continuously fed with royal jelly upto 8 th day. Initially, the larvae are loop shaped, but
towards cell capping get stretched in the cell with head facing upwards. After passing through four
moults, larvae enter into the prepupal and final pupal stage.
Pupa: Before entering into pupal stage, the larvae spins a thin silken cocoon around itself
and undergoes gradual, but drastic changes. At this stage, head, thorax, abdomen are clearly
distinguishable and compound eyes and other appendages are also clearly visible.
Adult: When pupal development stage is completed, the insect metamorphosis into adult
and adult bee emerges by gnawing its way out of the sealed cell.
The developmental stages of all the three castes are similar, but the time taken for development,
sexual maturity and also longevity of different castes are variable as shown in table.
Duration of (days) of developmental stages of different castes:
 S.No Developmental stage Queen Worker Drone
.

1 Egg- Apis cerena(A.c) 3 3 3

Apis mellifera(A,m) 3 3 3

2 Larvae- A.c 5 4-5 7

A.m 5 5 7

3 Pupae-A.c 7-8 11-12 14

A.m 8 12-13 14

4 Adult-A.c 15-16 18-20 24

A.m 16 21 24

Understanding honey bee biology is an important part of bee keeping – it provides the
foundation for colony management. The more one understands about bee behavior and colony
organization, the easier are bees to manage.
Workers:
Form bulk of the colony population.
Functionally sterile females.
Perform all duties and labor for maintenance of the colony.
Develop from a fertilized egg laid by the queen.
Honey be sex determination system:
Egg
Females Males
Fertilized Un-fertilized
Worker queen Drone

Labor activities of workers:

 Feeding, care of the young (nurse activities)
 Comb building and nest constructions.
 Protection of the colony (clean cells before reuse, remove debris and dead bees)
  Maintenance of colony internal environment (Fan at the entrance to circulate fresh air into
the hive if Co2 levels get too high or if temperature rise above acceptable levels).
 Collection and storage of food (nectar and pollen)
 Serve as guards at the hive entrance to protect from intruders by attacking and stinging.
Nectar is converted into honey by workers in the hive. When the honey is ripe the cells have
been filled, workers cap the cells with a wax capping. Pollen is carried on the hind legs when
foraging. Pollen is stored in the cells and serves as the source of proteins, fats and minerals.
1

2
Cleaning
3

8
Brood care
9

10

11

12

13

14

15 Comb building

16

17

18

19

20
Guarding
21

22

23

24

25
 26

27

28 Foraging
29

30

Queen: Queen is the most important individual in the colony, It is responsible for normal
functioning of the hive. Quality of the queen which determines the value of a hive.
 Develop from a fertilized egg.
 Queens are reared in special cells – hang vertically and extended as larva grows.
 Queen larvae are fed a diet of “royal Jelly”
 Queen mate with 10-12 drones.
 Nuptial flight from day 20-24 days age.
 Egg laying from days 23.
Biological role of queen:
 Reproduction – egg laying.
 Production of pheromones – maintain social order and allow workers to determine
queen presence.
 Prevent worker ovaries development.
 Prevent queen rearing.
Drones:
 These are males larger than workers, larger eyes, no sting.
 It hatch from unfertilized egg reared in larger cells, longer development (24 days)
 Only function – reproductive.
 Reach sexual maturity at about 12 days of age.
Virgin queens leave the hive to mate, seeking males at drone congregation areas. Mating
occurs in flight. Drone congregation areas remain stable over a period of years.
Comb is made up of hexagonal cells – optimal arrangement, cells offset on different sides
with an angle 9-140 usually 130. Majority of cells are worker cells (83%) and remaining cells are
drone (17%). Worker cells average 5.23 mm (5-6 mm) in diameter, drone cells 6.2 mm (6-7 mm).
Lr.No.3. Commercial methods of rearing, equipment used-types of beehives & their
description, equipment for handling of bees & swarm catching; honey extraction equipment
The successful use of movable frames and the discovery of bee space revolutionized
the primitive way of keeping bees and paved the way for designing of modern bee hive. In 1851,
Rev. L. L. Longstroth improved the earlier type of hive based on his discovery of “Bee Space”. Bee
space (Passage way) is the space required between any two frames for the bees to move about
between the combs and is too small to build combs and too large to deposit propolis. Bee space for
Apies mellifera is 5/16 inches and Apis cerana indica is ¼ inches. Longstroth hive and Newton’s
hive are generally used for beekeeping with A. mellifera and A. cerana indica respectively.

Equipments used: For scientific bee keeping the following appliances are moust.
1.Bee hive, 2.Bee hive stand, 3.Queen gate, 4.Queen excluder, 5.Comb foundation sheets
6.Honey extractor, 7.Unlapping knife, 8.Smoker, 9.Hive tool, 10.Bee veil, 11.Gloves,
12.Bee brush, 13 Dummy division board, 14.Drone excluder/drone trap 15.Queen cage,
16.Feeder, 17.Uncapping basket. 18. Swarm trap
Beehive :

_ It is a tool/equipment used in a scientific method of bee keeping.

_ It consists of a bottom board, brood chamber, brood frame, super chamber, super frame,
inner cover and top cover
Bee hive in an enclosed, man made structure in which honey bees live and raise their young
areas. Nest is used to discuss colonies which house, themselves in natural or hanging and exposed.
Bee hives serve several purposes: Production of honey, pollination of nearby crops, housing supply
bees for apitheraphy treatment. In India, the bee keeping industry started with the designing of a
small hive suitable for Apis cerena by Rev.Father Newton in 1910.This hive named “Newton Hive”
is still popular for keeping A.cerena. Bee hive can be categorized into two types: Traditional hives
and modern movable-frame hives.
A. Traditional hives: These are simply an enclosure with no internal structures, the bees
create their own honey comb within the hives. It can not be moved without destroying it.
This is called a fixed-frame hive. Honey is harvested by destroying the hives. Honey is
extracted by pressing – crushing the wax honey comb to squeeze out honey. This type
provide more wax, but far less honey, than a modern hive. There are four basic types of
traditional bee hives; mud hives, clay/tiles hives, skeps and bee gums.

o Mud hives and clay hives: These are long cylinders made from a mixture of mud , straw,
and dung. Clay hives are long cylinders made up of bake clay.
o Skeps:Skeps, baskets are placed open–end-down which are made of coils of grass or
straw. There is a single entrance at the bottom of the skep. Later more complex skeps
appeared.
Bee gums: In the eastern united states, sections of hollows trees were in use till 20 th
century. These were called gums because they were often from black gum tree (Nyssa
silvatica).
B. Modern hives: Modern hives can be vertical or horizontal. There are three main types of
modern hives in common use world wide.
- The Long stroth hive (First successful top opened hive with movable frames)
- The top – bar hive.
- The warre hive.
Vertical hives:
Long stroth hive: The key innovation of this type of hive was the use of vertically hanging frames
on which bees build their comb. The modern long stroth hive consists of:
- Bottom board with an entrance for the bees.
- Boxes containing frames for brood and honey, the lower brooder box for the queen to lay
eggs and box (super box) above is for honey storage.
- Inner cover and top cap providing weather protections.
Fig.
Long stroth patented his design in the united-states on October 5 th, 1852. A common feature
of this hive is the use of specific bee spaces between frames and other parts to that bees are not able
to glue together. Other vertical hives are: B.S. National hive, Rose hive, Smith hive, Flow hive,
Warre hives, CDB hives.
Horizontal hives: Top-bar hives: Top bar hive or Kenya hives are developed as a lower–cost
alternative to longstroth hive. This hive also have workable comb and make use of the concept of
bee space. The top-bar hive is so named because the bees draw their combs from top bar
suspended across the top of a cavity and not inside a full rectangular frame with sides and bottom
bar. There is no provision of foundation wax comb. The bees build the comb so it hangs down from
the top bar. This hive is often shaped as an inverted trapezoid and hive is expanded horizontally not
vertically unlike the longstroth design. It is a single, much longer box, with the top bars hanging in
parallel. The honey is usually extracted by crushing and straining rather than centrifuging. Bees
store most of their honey separately from the areas where they raise the brood. Other horizontal
hive designs are: Dartington Long Deep (DLD) hive, bee haus

Typical bee hive design: Bee hive consists of the following parts. (Fig)
a. Floor or bottom board: It is a plank longer than the brood camber with three sides on
to which the body of hive fits in tightly. The extension in the front serves as the alighting
place for the workers. At the front a small with 2 holes of different dimensions is fitted
which serves as entrance gate for bees.
b. Brood chamber and frame: It is a box without the top and bottom. Along with the front
and rear planks, a groove of ¼”depth and 3/8” width is made for holding the brood frames
each measuring 8 ¼ x 5 ¼ . Eight frames are fitted into the brood chamber with about a
total gap of 1 cm to facilitate sliding of frames for each taking out of any one. The
dimensions of this chamber is 9 ¾” x 3 ¼” x 6 ¾”.
c. Super chamber and frame: The dimensions of this chamber are similar to that of brood
chamber, but its height is 3 ½ ” .
d. Queen excluder: It is a perforated zinc sheet, placed in between the brood and super
chamber so as to restrict the activity of queen to brood chamber only.
e. Inner cover: It is a simple wooden plank measuring 9 ¼” x 8 ¼” x ½” thickness with a
hole in the center for ventilation. This is sued to close the hive.
f. Top cover: The inner dimensions of top cover are equal to outer dimensions of super
chamber such that part of super brood goes into the top cover. A small gap is left between
the top and inner cover. Holes covered with wire mesh re provided at the sides to provide
better ventilation. On the outer surface of top cover a metal sheet is fixed to prevent wetting
of brood from rain water.

Part of the hive Newtons bee hive Langstroth bee hive

Stand Buried in the soil leaving a height of Four legged stand of 15 x 22.5 cm
22.5x30cm above ground and a height. Theupper dimensions support
board of 40x30 cm fixed its top. the bottom board properly.

Bottom board It is slightly wider and 10cm longer It measures 55x38x2.2cm. its front
than brood chamber with headings on side is provided with an entrance rod
three sides in to which the hive body which measurers 36.2x2.2x2.2 cm. it
fits in tightly. The extension in the has an entrance of 7.5 cm length and
front serves as slighting board. 0.9cm depth in the middle.

Brood chamber It is a box without top and planks with It is a rectangular box without top
outer dimensions of 27.8 x 25.6 x16 cm and bottom. Its outer and inner
and inner dimensions of dimensions are 47x40.6x2.2cm and
23.4x22.5x16cm. along the top of the 45.6 x 35.6 x x 2.2 cm. A rabbet of
front and rear plans, a groove of 0.6cm 1.2cm wide and 1.6cm deep is cut
depth and 0.9cm width is made for along the entire length of width
resting the frames. The front plank has planks.
an opening of 8.7 x 0.9cm to serve as
an entrance.
Number of Eight Ten
brood frames
 Brood frame

a) Top Measures 25x2.2x0.3cm Measures 47.5x2.5x2.2cm. it is cut to

0.9 cm thickness on both sides for a
length of 2.7cm. it has a groove in the
middle of its lower side for fixing
the comb foundation sheet.
b) side bar Measures 13.4x2.8x1.2 an extension of It is 22.8 cm thick. The width of upper
0.3 cm is given on either side or a and lower parts is 3.4 and 2.5cm.
clearance of 0.6cm when two four holes are made for wiring the
frames are kept side by side. frame.
a) bottom bar Measures 20.6x14.4 cm inner length Measures 44x1.9x0.9cm
Super Chamber and height. Length and breadth are Same as brood
same as that of brood chamber but the chamber.
internal
Super frame Dimensions are same as that of brood Same as that of brood frame.
frame but the internal height is 6.2cm.
Cover It has a top cover with two sloping It has an inner cover to cover the
planks on either side. An opening of brood chamber or super chamber. It
8.7cm square fitted with wire guage is measures
made on the lower ceiling plant for 50x40.6x0.9 cm. it further has a
ventilation. A clearance of 0.6cm is sloping top cover with wooden frame
provided between ceiling plank and of 50x40.6cm outside measurements
the frames below. and is made with eaved sides of
65cm long slanting boards for the
rainwater
to shed off. It rests loosely over the
hive. Flat top cover is made of0.9 cm
thick wooden board nailed to a
rectangular frame of 5cm height, all
covered with zinc sheet. Its inner
measurements are 52.5x42.5 cm. it

Bee Keeping equipments:

1. Stand: It is a wooden or cement or iron piece of about 4’ in diameter, which is buried deep
into the ground, leaving 3’ above ground. At the collar region a cement pan is prepared as ant
well.
2. Queen Gate: When a natural colony is transferred to a bee hive the queen gate is used at the
entrance hole to make the colony to acclimatize. This is a metal sheet with holes, which permit
the entry and exit of only workers bees.
3. Queen excluder: It is a perforated zinc sheet, placed in between the brood and super chamber
so as to restrict the activity of queen to brood chamber only.
4. Foundation combs*: Foundation comb is made of bee wax which will have the impressions of
hexagonal cells. This is used to guide the bees to construct cells. The comb built by the bees on
 the foundation sheet in the super camber can be repeatedly used after honey extraction. Such
combs helps in producing more honey, as the bees do not have to waste energy is building the
new comb.
5. Honey extractor*: This device is used to extract honey in its purest form from the honey
comb. It works on the principle of centrifugal force. This equipment is lubricated with 4 frame
holders fixed on to a central rod. A handle is provided to rotate the central rod through a gear
system. An outlet is provided at the bottom to collect honey. As the frame holders are whirled
by rotating the handle the honey is thrown out which trickles after dashing the wall.
6. Uncapping knife: A plain steel knife or a double jacketed knife heated by steam may be used
to uncap the cells before the honey comb frame is placed in the extractor.
7. Smoker: It is used to generate smoke for easy handling of bees. It consists of a air blower
attached to a tin can provided with a spout for directing the smoke. Smoke is liberated in the
can by burning the waste cotton.
8. Hive tool: It is a piece of flattened iron with hammered down edges used for scraping bee glaue
from the frames and superfluous pieces of comb fallen on to the bottom board.
9. Bee veil*: It is for protection of head and face from the bee stings. It is made up of iron ring to
which nylon or mosquito net is hung in cylindrical fashion. At the bottom, a thread is provided
to close the opening.
10. Gloves: These are made of heavy canvas or leather useful for protecting hands from bee stings.
11. Bee brush: This is employed to brush off bees from a honey comb before it is taken for honey
extraction.
12. Dummy board: It is a wooden partition, which serves as a movable wall and helps to reduce
the size of the brood chamber so that the bees can keep the hive air conditioned.
13. Drone excluder: It is a simple device consisting of a piece grooved slightly longer than the
entrance of the hive with a shallow opening of 1/8”. Drones which wriggle out from the hive,
find themselves difficult to get into the hive again.
14. Queen cage: It is a cylindrical tube or rectangular cage made up of perforated metal sheet with
an opening. It is used to transfer the queen from one hive to another hive.
15. Division board feeder: It is a wooden trough with a wooden strip pushed in an inclined
position acts as a float and perch for the bees to sit and slip sugar solution kept inside the
feeder.
16. Uncapping basket: It is a basket in which the caps of the honey cells are collected during
uncapping of cells.
17.Swarm trap: It is a rectangular box open at one of the broader sides and wire gauge fixed to
about 2/3 of its height on the other side and the remaining 1/3 portion with a queen excluder sheet
made of zinc in a slanting position. During swarming season, when bees construct queen cells, the
box is kept on the alighting board with open side close to the hive and tightly secured. One or two
frames with comb foundation sheets are kept inside the box. When the swarm is issued in a few
days, the queen is trapped in the box and settles in the comb foundation sheet with a few workers.
Thus the swarm is induced to settle in the frame and it can then be transferred to any hive at a
desired place.
Lecture No. 4. Bee colony activities and seasonal management- starting of new colony-
location, site, catching a swarm, transferring a colony, replacement of queen, combining
colonies, swarm prevention, colony management in different seasons
Bee colony activities : The honey bees remain active generally throughout the year except during
severe winter. Following are the main activities of honey bee:
1. Foraging: The field bees get activated in the morning by about 7 or 8 AM depending upon
the sunshine and temperature, go out on foraging and collect pollen, nectar, propolis, and
water, carry them to hive and make a number of trips till sunset. The bees that go out first
find out new source of these materials and are called searcher bees or scout bees. They
return to the hive and communicate the message to other foraging bees by means of definite
pattern of dancing. They perform a ‘round dance’ (in circles clock wise and anticlockwise
alternately every one or two circles) if the source is nearby and “Wagtail dance” in pattern
of making a straight run then a semi circle back to the beginning of the straight line, moving
up the top of the run and a semicircle in the opposite direction back to the beginning of the
straight line again, which indicates the direction of the food source. The richness of the
collecting ground and the concentration of the nectar are given out by the intensity of
dancing. On perception of this information on the distance and direction of the source,
other bees set out by orienting themselves to the massage and unfailingly find out the
source. In the field if the foraging source is rich the bees open the scent gland situated in
between the 5th and 6th abdominal segment and odour emitted by the gland attracts other
foragers that may be searching in the vicinity. Bees in two different colonies located side by
side may visit entirely different sources, mainly due to differences in discoveries by the
scout bees. The honey bees usually forage within about 100 m distance from the hive but
they can go upto 1.5 Km. They are capable of flying at a speed of 25 to 30 Km. per hour.
They are very active in foraging within a temperature range of 25 to 270 C.

Pollen is collected from flowers. When the bees visit them, the pollen grains get smeared all
over the body surface. The pollen grains are cleaned by the pollen brushes of forelegs transferred to
the middle basitarsi and finally to the hind basitarsi of the opposite side. A bee carries upto 35% of
its body weight of pollen in one trip. The workers make about 6,000 trips a day to collect 500 to
1,000 mg. of pollen.

Nectar is also collected from the flowers and stored in the crop where it is mixed with
saliva. The invertase contained in the saliva acts upon sucrose of the nectar and converts it into
dextrose and laevulose. The bee returns to the hive and regurgitates the contents of the
crop/stomach into comb cells. A worker makes about 19,000 trips a day for collection of nectar.
Karl Ritter Von Frisch along with Nikolaas Tinbergen and Konard Lorenz, an Austrian ethologist
received Noble prize in 1973 for contributions in translating the language of honey bees
communicated through waggle dance.
2.Combing: The comb of honey bees comprises of several haxagonal cells on both side of mid-rib.
The combs are built with beeswax which is secreted by 4 pairs of wax glands located on 3-6
abdominal sterna. The wax secreted is a liquid form collects in the intersegmental regions, hardens
into thin flakes that are picked up by the legs and passed on to the spatula of mandibles for being
kneaded and stuck to the top of nesting cavity and extended downwards bit by bits. Several bees
hang like a sting to do the job. Usually, the cells meant for honey storage are located uppermost
near the point of attachment below which are pollen cells spread in 5 cm wide band, further down
are worker brood cells which are followed by a drone and queen cells. The worker cells are the
smallest, done cells larger than the worker cells and queen cells the largest. Worker and drone cells
are directed sideways and queen cells vertically with open ends downwards. Cells of the size of
worker and drone cells are used for storing honey and pollen. Cells containing unripe honey or
developing brood are uncapped; those with fully ripe honey and fully fed grubs are capped, and
pollen cells are generally not capped. Freshly built comb is generally white, but becomes dark after
some time.

3. Swarming: Swarming is a method of reproduction in which a part of the colony migrates to a

new site to make a new colony. During spring and summer when conditions are favourbale and
food is available in plenty, the bees multiply greatly with the result the comb becomes crowed and
the bees begin to make preparations for swarming. At this stage, the queen daughter cells are built
at the bottom and when new queen is ready to emerge out, the new queen and a large number of
workers which have previously filled the cells with honey, leave the nest to start a new colony
Swarm settles in a suitable place already searched out by the workers for building new comb. In a
parent colony the first queen daughter which emerges after swarming, kills the baby queen in the
other cell and establishes herself as a queen mother. After that, they start their routine work of
gathering nectar and pollen.

4. Absconding and migration: Complete desertion of a hive is known as absconding. This may
occur due to lack of water, exhaustion of food store (either due to short supply of nectar or robbery
of honey), unfavourable environment, constant pest attack ((ants, wax moth, etc.) and even by
excessive interference by the beekeeper in which case he is regarded as an enemy. Prior to
absconding, the bees ‘drink’ whatever honey their nest has and them migrate leaving behind empty
combs, brood and sometimes even food, Absconding can be prevented by providing water or sugar
solution near the hive particularly during summer.

5. Air conditioning: Among the living creatures, honey bees are the only organisms which make
their comb air conditioned. They keep their comb warm in winter and cool during summer. The
brood temperature is stabilized between 33 and 36 0 C averaging about 34.50 C. Clustering begins
when the temperature inside the nest dips below 18 0 C and they generate heat by sitting on one
another and rubbing their legs due to which the temperature of the comb rises. In summer, when
the temperature rises above 330C, the bees start fanning with their wings at the gate inside as well
as outside with the result water evaporates from the honey and comb remains cool. The brood nest
is usually kept at 40 per cent relative humidity.

Language of bees:

Honey bees have an unique character of communication with each other about the distance and
direction of food source. Honey bee languages are for the first time discovered and interpreted by
Karl Von Frisch of Univ. of Munich, Germany who was a professor of Zoology in early 192os for
which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1973. He found that the
forager bees (workers) on return to the nest makes two kinds of dances on the surface of the comb;
round dance and tail-wagging or figure of eight dance which the insiders perceive by contacting of
forager’s body with their antennae. In the round dance which is used to indicate a short distance (<
50 mt. in case of A.mellifera), the bees runs in circles, first in one and then in opposite direction
(clock and anti-clock-wise), while in the tail – wagging dance which is used to indicate a longer
distance (beyond 50 mt.. in case of A. mellifera) the bee makes two half circles in opposite
directions with a straight run in between. During the straight run, the bee shakes (wags) its
abdomen from side to side and the no of wags per unit time was related to the distance food was
located. More the wags, nearer was the food. For instance in the case of A. indica, 10.5 shakes
(wags) in 1-5 seconds indicate a distance of 50 ft and 4.4 wags 100 ft. These figures vary with
species. Bees convey not only the distance of food sources but also the direction. The direction is
conveyed by the dancing bees through an angle between its straight run and top of the hive. (Fig)

Seasonal Management: The colony activity changes with the seasons.

Spring time (February – March): The activity of bee colony usually starts in late February and
the beginning of March. Temperature is the determining factor as far as honey bees concerned. As
the weather gets warmer and the days lengthen, and pollen becomes available, the queen starts
laying eggs, and the bees become active gathering nectar and pollen and storing honey in combs.
Then the colony increases brood rearing and its population increase to peak size. When the hive
becomes too crowded, the colony makes preparation to swarm. when preparing to swarms drone
population increases and several queen cells are built to produce new queens. Swarming generally
occurs in March to June.
Summer: In tropical regions, in mid to late summer, only small amount of nectar and pollen is
brought into the colony. Often no brood is reared and subsequently the colony does not grow. In
the hot weather, bees collect water to cool the hive, and they fan their wings at the entrance to
reduce the temperature within the hive. Bees don’t like heat. They are stressed by temperature over
370c. and must keep the temperature inside the hive around 33–350 C. If the temperature gets to
high in the hive, they will crowd outside the hive on the landing board during day and even in the
evening.
Autumn: (Oct. – Nov.): The bees seal up cracks, openings in the hive with sticky propolis in
preparation for winter Bees forage becomes scarce, reduces brood rearing and the queen cease
laying eggs during October – November. Drones are driven out the hive by the worker bees and left
to die from cold and starvation.
Winter: In the temperate regions, the winter temperature is so low that the bees can’t fly out
of the hive. The queen stops laying eggs and no brooding. They stop flying when the temperature
falls below 100C and remain in the hive, eat stored honey to generate heat and cluster together
tightly in the middle of the hive to keep themselves warm. The cooler the temperature the more
tight the cluster becomes.
In warmer areas where temperature do not drop so low, the activity of the colony is
reduced, only few bees fly out of the hive, hence very little nectar is collected.
1. Management during honey flow season:
 Providing enough space for honey storage.
 Use queen excluder to stop queen bee movement into super frame.
 Provide empty frames with comb foundation sheets to make new combs.
 Check the super and remove the super frames when they are fully sealed for honey
extraction.
2. Management during dearth period:
 Remove empty combs in the brood chamber.
 Use dummy division board and confine bees is a smaller area.
 Give artificial feeding with sugar syrup.
 Provide natural pollen or pollen substitute or pollen supplement.
 Store empty combs properly.
 If the colonies are too weak unite them.
3. Special Management techniques:
 Provide sugar syrup during windy and rainy days.
 During summer increase hive ventilation by providing a splinter between brood and
super chambers.
 Confine the bees in the hive for a day by closing the entrance to protect against
pesticide poisoning.
 Replace the queen if the colony is highly aggressive.
 Pack and transport the colonies during night to migratory bee keeping sites.
4. Sugar syrup preparation and feeding:
 Dissolve sugar in boiling water (1:1 dilution)
 Stir totally to dissolve the sugar.
 Cool the syrup.
 Pour the syrup into the feeder during evening hours.
 Put twigs or floats inside feeder to prevent drowning of bees.
  Avoid spilling of syrup to prevent ants.

Starting of new colony ((location and site):

An apiary is a place where honey bees are kept either for domestic or commercial purposes
and ranges from a single hive to hundreds of hives.

Factors to be considered for Apiary siting.

1. Knowledge of bee plants – One should know the bee plants in the area and their flowering
periods.
2. Duration of flowering plants:
- There should be abundant flowers to attract the bees.
- Knowledge on the period between budding and actual flowering.
- Plants selected should produce high quality honey.
- Select best bee keeping vegetation areas such as forest wood lands, grass lands with
dense covers of herbs/shrubs, agricultural crops yielding nectar in abundance such as
sunflower, coffee, legumes, bananas, etc.
3. Source of water:
- Bees require water for various uses; cooling, feeding larvae and own use.
- In Apiary can be close to the source of water.
- If there is no permanent source, water can be supplied in containers with floating sticks
to avoid drowning of bees.

4. Human conflicts:
- Apiary should be away from public places, away from intensive agricultural areas
where large no. of people work every day.
- Schools, high ways and estates should be avoided so that bees should not gets
disturbance and should not become nuisance to people.
- The recommended distance from these utilities should be >300 mts.

5. Fence/Hedge:
- Trees and bushes should surround the apiary. This makes bees to fly high, thus
reducing risk of becoming a nuisance.
- The area should be fenced to exclude live stock and other animals that might disturb
bees.
6. Shelter:
- Colonies should be sheltered from the scourging sun, frost, wind and floods.
- Wind causes drifting of bees and poor communication. An artificial or natural shade is
necessary.
7. Drainage:
- A well drained place is selected to avoid absconding of bees due to high humidity.
- Water logged soils damages hives.
8. Accessibility: Area should be accessible for case in management of the apiary and
transportation of honey.
9. Pests: Free from frequent attacks by pests and diseases.
10. Fire hazard: Avoid locations with frequent bush fires.
11. Distance between apiaries:
- Apiaries should be atleast 2-3 km apart.
- Each apiary should not hold > 50 colonies.
12. Carrying capacity of site: In one acre of good forest land an average of 50 hives can be
comfortably established, but in sparse vegetation it can be less than 50.
13. Pesticides:
- Apiary should be far from the agricultural crops which are frequently sprayed with
pesticides to avoid poisoning and honey contamination.
- Avoid spraying when forage plants are on flower or during peak foraging periods.
- Use bee – friendly pesticides.
- * The entrance of the hive ideally should face somewhere between South and East. The
advantage to an East facing entrance is earlier foraging flights and south facing
promotes longer foraging periods in the cooler months.
Transferring a colony: When moving a bee hive from one place to another ia few things need to
be taken into consideration, reducing stress on the bees and avoiding unpleasant surprises.
General Tips:
- Avoid transferring/moving bees during the middle of the day. Before sunrise or after
sunset are the best options because bees are less active during this time and all of the
bees are in the hive. A cool, windy or rainy day i.e. when the bees don’t fly out allows
transfer during the day as well.
- Avoid transferring bees on warm/hot day. Bees have to find water at their new location
(up to one litre day).
- When the hives are placed at new location, spray a mist of water around the entrance
before opening it.
- Before moving the hives, make sure that none of the bees will get out during transport
– use duct tape to close off the entrance if the hive is ventilated, if not, use fly wire
screens.
- When installing a hive in new location, always use a hive stand to preserve the wood
and also to improve the air circulation.

When installing a hive in a new location, always make sure that the hive is tilted to the
front. Should any water be getting into the hive it can run out of the entrance, rather than flooding
the bottom board and drowning the bees.
The Langstroth hive is not a fixed structure; it can fall apart during a rough ride to its new
location. Using an emlock or ratchet straps is an effective way to secure the various parts of a
Langstroth hive. Alternatively, you can use "hive spring clips" to keep the entire hive assembly
together at all times.

Replacement of queen:
Since there is only a single queen in a bee colony, there is a special procedure to replace her
when it becomes necessary to do so. Replacement of a queen by another queen is a process termed
as supersedure. Replacement of the queen and production of another colony is another behaviour
which is called swarming. A third means of replacing a queen, emergency queen rearing, is
necessary if the queen dies suddenly, is removed by a bee keeper or some how injured or lost from
her colony.
Supersedure: A failing queen who is unable to lay as many eggs as the colony requires or who
begins to run out spermatozoa and so lays a high proportion of unfertilised eggs will need to be
superseded (replaced) by supersedure queen. When the workers feel shortage of queen substance
they start constructing large numbers as in case of swarming. In supersedure queen cells are
constructed in the middle of the comb, whereas in case of swarming at the edges. As usual all
young virgins except one are killed. The young queen starts laying eggs before the old queen
disappears.
Emergency queen: In the event of death of queen and because of a complete absence of the queen
substance, the workers are stimulated to get set for producing an emergency queen. The eggs in
worker cell or larvae less than 2 ½ days old, which are still being fed on an abundance of brood-
food, are selected. Their cells are enlarged and extended down wards and the larvae fed in the same
way as in normal queen cells to develop into emergency queen. As usual, any one of them is
allowed to survive, mate and take over the egg-laying function of the old (Dead) queen.

Combining colonies:
Combining two colonies, into one is done when one of them is weak or queen less or for
other reason like bad traits, etc. There are two methods of doing this.

i) Direct uniting: The two hives to be united are brought near gradually and kept side by
side. The queen with the undesirable traits in one of the hives is removed. Next
morning, when the bees are busy, the frames of two hives are gently put in one. The
success of this method depends upon the skill with which it is done.
ii) News paper method:
 Move the colonies to be united 30 cm/day.
 Bring the colonies side by side.
 Remove the queen from weak colony.
 Keep a news paper on the top of the brood chamber of the queen right colony.
 Make several holes on the paper using small nail.
 Place the queen less colony on to the top of the queen right colony.
 Close the hive entrance.
  Transfer the good brood combs from queen less colony to the queen right colony
the next day.

Dusting with talcum powder to worker of the both the colonies to mask the smell of each
hive. Thus the bees do not distinguish the smell of colony and easily mingle. Spraying worker of
both the hives with sugar syrup and uniting them.

Swarm prevention & Catching a swarm:

Swarm control/prevention: The strength of the colony gets depleted as a result of
swarming. Swarming can be prevented by clipping off special queen cells as they are constructed,
since a colony does not send out a swarm unless a new queen is ready to take the place of the
reigning queen.
There are few other methods of swarm control in which the natural instincts of the bees for
dispersal and perpetuation of species are not curbed but aim at relieving the spatial congestion and
re-adjustment of population.

a) Primary swarm is allowed to take place but trapped in a swarm trap and hived as a
separate colony. The after swarms are prevented by destroying the remaining queen
brood cells.
b) One or two brood combs in the strong colonies which are inclined to issue swarms are
removed and given to weak colonies.
c) A brood comb with the reigning queen and few workers taken out and put in a separate
hive and thus the colony is divided.
d) Interchange of positions between a strong and weak colony.

Catching a swarm: Swam is a term used to describe a grouping of honey bees that recently
split off from a strong “mother colony” to start a new hive. Catching and transferring swarm is a
preferred method of populating hives. Swarming is the natural method honey bee colonies use for
reproduction. The original colony replaces the old queen, who leaves the hive with about half of the
workers bees and as much honey as they can carry. Swarms land on a structure near their original
hive location, cluster themselves, while scout bees leaves in search of new hive location. It’s in this
stage that swarms can be captured and used to populate any empty hive. Swarms are immediately
ready to start building comb within their new home.
Swarm catching tool kit should include:
 1. Breathable box made of wood or card board.
2. Light colored bed sheet.
3. Bees brush
4. Pruning shears.
5. Lemon grass oil.
6. Protective gear (Hat and bee veil)

Steps in catching swarm:

1. Determine whether it’s safe to get the bees. If the cluster is within the arms reach from
ground level or positioned high up.
2. Put on protective gear (hat-veil and gloves)
3. Lay a light coloured sheet out under the swarm and place box on top of it.
4. Move as much swarm cluster into the box as you can if the queen did not make it into the
box, you will within minutes, as the workers will move out of the box and back on the
branch. If that is the case, try again until workers stay in the box.
a) If the bee cluster is on a branch, shake the bees into the box.
b) If the cluster is hanging from a small branch or vegetation, we can use pruning shears to
cut the vegetation and place it with the bees in the box.
c) If the cluster is on a fence, wall or other similar structures, mist them with a simple
solution of sugar water or plain water from a spray bottle. This causes lower likeli -hood
of flight. Then use bee brush to brush them into the box with a quick downward motion.
d) If the cluster is on the ground, place lemon grass oil in the box as a lure, and tilt the box
sideways to encourage them to move there on their own.

5. Close the box, leaving a small gap for returning scout bees to enter through.
6. Leave the box in this position until sundown.
7. After nightfall close the box entirely and secure with the tape entirely or put whole box in a
mesh swarm bags.
8. Transport the swarm as gently as possible, and place them in a safe location over night.
9. Install the swarm into new hive early the follow morning.

Catching a swarm in nucleus box (NUC box): Allows bee keeper more time before they are
installed in permanent hive. A NUC is essentially a mini-hive with frames or top bars that can be
transferred into a full sized hive. Swarms are able to start building and utilizing combs in NUC
box.
Catching a swam with swam trap: The simplest swarm trap is merely a box with a lid, swarm
lure (Lemon grass oil) placed inside and an entrance hole.If the swarm trap is good to the scout
bees, the swam can be easily trapped. The swarm trap box is at least 9” tall, 20” long and 10”
wide. The swarm trap should be placed 10’ off the ground.
Lesson No. 5. Bee pasturage, bee foraging and communication. Honey extraction, bee
products and their uses.
Bee pasturage, bee foraging :
Bee pasturage: Honey bees have close link with flora because they live solely on nectar and
pollen. To maximize the honey production, bee keeper should have a thorough knowledge of floral
cycle, on set of major honey flow and dearth periods.

1. The plants which are visited by bees only for nectar are:

Tamarind (Tamarindus indicus) (rich source), Neem (Azadirachta indica), Soap nut (Sapindum
spp.), Eucalyptus spp., Pungam (Pongamia glabra), Morinda tinctoria, Prosopis spicigera,
Quisqualis indica, Legasca mollis, Tribulus terrestris, Glyricidia maculata.

2. Plants which supply pollen to the bees are:

Sorghum (rich source), maize, roses, bajra, finger millet, pomegranate, sweet potato, tobacco,
castor, tea etc.

4. Plants which supply both nectar and pollen are:

Banana, citrus, apple, pear, plum, peach, guava, mango, coconut, sesamum, safflower, mustard,
cruciferous and cucurbitaceous vegetables, bhendi, onion, Lucern, clover, hollyhock, aster, Cassia
fistula, cotton (very rich source).

The wild and cultivated flora which are sources of pollen and nectar to the honey bees are
collectively called as bee pasturage or bee flora or bee forage. In addition to pollen and nectar, the
bees also collect propolis, a resinous substance exuded by buds, leaves and other parts of various
trees and shrubs. The period when a good number of plants providing nectar and pollen are
available to bees is called honey flow period. If the nectar yield is copious from a good number of
plants of a particular species, it is called major honey flow period. The days when there is no honey
flow is called the dearth period. As nectar and pollen are basic raw materials for bee keeping, a
thorough knowledge of the bee flora of a locality is essential. Bee keepers showed plan for
maximum colony population to coincide with the major honey flow for maximum honey and
pollination. Bees depend on a wide variety of plants which includes wild and cultivated plants.

Fruit Crops: Citrus, litchi, apple, peach, guava, jamun, tamarind, date palm, coconut palm, phalsa,
cashew, etc.

Vegetables: Cucurbits, pea s, okra, beans, radish, onion, brinjal, sweet potato.

Timber tree: Soap nut, Acacia, neem, eucalyptus, mahua, sandal wood, etc.

Ornamental plants: Wild rose, cosmos, golden rod, poinsesttia, cocal creeper, honey-suckle,
dandelion, etc.

Foraging:

Bee foraging refers to collection of nectar and pollen by the Honey bees.
The field bees or forager bees get activated in the morning by about 7 or 8 a.m. depending upon
the sunshine and temperature, go out on foraging and collect pollen, nectar, propolis and water,
carry them to the hive and deposit. Bees make a number of trips till sunset. They are capable of
flying at a speed of 25 to 30 km per hour. The bees are most active in foraging within
temperature range of 25 to 27oC.
The forager bees can be classified into two categories-
a) scoutbees or searcher bees which search for the best food resource and
b) reticent bees in general, range from 40–90% of the total forager bees population, which wait in
the beehive until the scout bees return and give them information about the food source by
definite patterns of dancing.
Economics of Foraging:
Foraging requires energy and the honeybee’s evaluation as to where, what and how long to
forage is all related to the economics of energy consumption and the net gain of food to the
colony.
For example, foraging bees may not access a high quality food source when its collection
requires energy expenditure exceeding the energy value of the food source. Generally bees fly
only as far as necessary to secure an acceptable food source from which there is a net-gain.
Factors that influence foraging behaviour:
 weather e.g. wind, temperature, and sunlight,
 distance of the food source from the hive (including differences in elevation),
 food quality (concentration of sugar, protein content of the pollen),
 quantity of nectar or pollen.
Foraging Range:
Bees are known to fly as far as 12 km (8 miles), but usually foraging is limited to food
sources within 3 km. Approximately 75% of foraging bees fly within one kilometer while young
field bees only fly within the first few hundred meters.
 Number of Trips per Day:
The number of trips will depend on various conditions including weather, forage
availability, strength of colony, etc. In general, 5-15 trips per day are made, while a water
collector may make as many as 100 trips per day.

The field bees get activated in the morning by about 7 or 8 AM depending upon the
sunshine and temperature, go out on foraging and collect pollen, nectar, propolis, and water,
carry them to hive and make a number of trips till sunset. The bees that go out first find out new
source of these materials and are called searcher bees or scout bees. They return to the hive and
communicate the message to other foraging bees by means of definite pattern of dancing. They
perform a ‘round dance’ (in circles clock wise and anticlockwise alternately every one or two
circles) if the source is nearby and “Wagtail dance” in pattern of making a straight run then a
semi circle back to the beginning of the straight line, moving up the top of the run and a
semicircle in the opposite direction back to the beginning of the straight line again, which
indicates the direction of the food source. The richness of the collecting ground and the
concentration of the nectar are given out by the intensity of dancing. On perception of this
information on the distance and direction of the source, other bees set out by orienting
themselves to the massage and unfailingly find out the source. In the field if the foraging source
is rich the bees open the scent gland situated in between the 5 th and 6th abdominal segment and
odour emitted by the gland attracts other foragers that may be searching in the vicinity. Bees in
two different colonies located side by side may visit entirely different sources, mainly due to
differences in discoveries by the scout bees. The honey bees usually forage within about 100 m
distance from the hive but they can go upto 1.5 Km. They are capable of flying at a speed of 25
to 30 Km. per hour. They are very active in foraging within a temperature range of 25 to 270 C.
 Pollen is collected from flowers. When the bees visit them, the pollen grains get smeared
all over the body surface. The pollen grains are cleaned by the pollen brushes of forelegs
transferred to the middle basitarsi and finally to the hind basitarsi of the opposite side. A bee
carries upto 35% of its body weight of pollen in one trip. The workers make about 6,000 trips a
day to collect 500 to 1,000 mg. of pollen.

Nectar is also collected from the flowers and stored in the crop where it is mixed with
saliva. The invertase contained in the saliva acts upon sucrose of the nectar and converts it into
dextrose and laevulose. The bee returns to the hive and regurgitates the contents of the
crop/stomach into comb cells. A worker makes about 19,000 trips a day for collection of nectar.
Karl Ritter Von Frisch along with Nikolaas Tinbergen and Konard Lorenz, an Austrian
ethologist received Noble prize in 1973 for contributions in translating the language of honey
bees communicated through waggle dance.

Bee communication: Honey bees have an unique character of communication with each other
about the distance and direction of food source Honey bee languages are for the first time
discovered and interpreted by Karl Von Frisch of Univ. of Munich, Germany who was a
professor of Zoology in early 20;. He found that the forager bees (workers) on return to the nest
makes two kinds of dances on the surface of the comb; round dance and tail-wagging or figure of
eight dance which the insiders perceive by contacting of forager’s body with their antennae. In
the round dance which is used to indicate a short distance (< 50 mt. in case of A.mellifera), the
bees runs in circles, first in one and then in opposite direction (clock and anti-clock-wise), while
in the tail – wagging dance which is used to indicate a longer distance (beyond 50 mt.. in case of
A. mellifera) the bee makes two half circles in opposite directions with a straight run in between.
During the straight run, the bee shakes (wags) its abdomen from side to side and the no of wags
per unit time was related to the distance food was located. More the wags, nearer was the food.
For instance in the case of A. indica, 10.5 shakes (wags) in 1-5 seconds indicate a distance of 50
ft and 4.4 wags 100 ft. These figures vary with species. Bees convey not only the distance of
food sources but also the direction. The direction is conveyed by the dancing bees through an
angle between its straight run and top of the hive.
Honey extraction: When the honey flow begins to slow down, the frames with honey should be
removed for extraction. To remove honey comb, the colony is smoked, the desired combs taken
out and bees brushed off with a soft brush or leaves. These combs are placed in tight hive bodies,
carried to the extraction room. A room with wire gauged bee tight doors is necessary for honey
extraction. Frames should be uncapped with a hot knife. The uncapped frames should be placed
in extractor and rotated slowly and then at a faster speed. Then the frames are reversed and
extraction is again worked. Finally, honey collected in the container is strained and packed in
tins or bottles. After the extraction, the place should be swabbed with water and the appliances
cleaned. The empty wet combs should be returned to the hives for bees for cleaning and reuse.

Steps in Honey Extraction:

Frames with fully ripened honey removed

Colony is smoked & Bees brushed off

Place combs in tight hive bodies

Carry frames to Extraction room

Un cap cells with hot uncapping knife

Place Uncapped frames in Extractor
Un
cap
cells Rotate Extractor slowly & Then faster
with
hot Reverse frames
Plac
unca
e
ppin
Unc
g
appe
knife
Collect honey & Strained & Bottled
d
fram
Empty wet combs reused
es in
Extr
acto
r

By products and their uses: Apart from honey, there are other commercially important by –
products like royal jelly, bees wax, pollen, propolis and bee venom.
1. Royal Jelly: It is a secretion from the hypopharyngeal glands of worker bees normally of
5-15 days of age.. It is fed to queen throughout their larval and adult lives and also to
young workers and drone larvae.. It is milky white in colour and contain, proteins
(12.34%), fats(5.46%), carbohydrates (12.49%), minerals (0.82%) like Iron, Sulphur,
copper, silicon. It is rich in vitamin B and C, but lacks Vitamin E. It also contains 10-
hydroxydecenoic acid , which exhibits antibiotic activity against bacteria and fungi. It is
believed to be a general tonic and cure against common cold.It increases, vitality and
vigour in humans. contains a high concentration of vitamins B5, B6, and amino acids and
is believed to be a potent antioxidant a special rejuvenating substance that promotes
tissue growth, muscle and cell regeneration

2. Bees wax: It is secreted as a liquid but solidifies when exposed to air. Scales are
formed after solidification which is removed by the hive – bees for building the comb.
Bee wax is obtained from the combs of wild hives, frame hives & Cappings
Main source of bee wax in India: A. dorsata. On an average , for every 100Kg of honey
produced, the corresponding wax production may range from 1-2 Kg. Evidently wax is
costlier than honey.Although the wax is white in color, the shade varies depending on the
pollen pigments. It is chiefly used in the candle industry, also for making creams,
ointments, capsules, deodorants, varnish, shoe polish, etc.

Steps in wax extraction:

 Remove honey from combs & Cappings

 Soak combs & Cappings in water to remove furthur
traces of honey
 Drain off water & collect comb and cappings
 Prepare wax cakes with Solar extactor or Boiling in
water
 Honey: It is sweet viscous fluid produced from the flower nectar by the bees and stored
them for food.. It is commercially the most important product of apiculture since it is a
whole food containing sugars, antibiotics, enzymes, acids, minerals. It is a useful carrier for
many Ayurvedic and Unani medicinal preparations. In severe cases of malnutrition, ulcers
and impaired digestion, honey is recommended for regular consumption. The nectar which
is composed of 20-40% sucrose is reduced by the enzyme invertase to Glucose and
fructose.It is used as a laxative, a blood purifier, used as a preventive agent against cold,

cough and fever, ulcers of throat, tongue and burns. It is known as food of Gods. Specific
Gravity of Honey is 1.34-1.44 gms/cc which is measured by hydrometer.

Sl.no Constituent Amount (%)

1 Water 17.2

2 Fructose (Levulose) 38.2 or 41.0

3 Glucose ( Dextrose) 31.3 or 35.0

4 Sucrose 1.3

5 Maltose 7.3

6 Higher sugars 1.5

7 Total acids 0.57

8 Minerals 0.17 or 2.0

9 Proteins & Amino acids 0.04

10 Enzymes, vitamins Traces

2. Propolis: It is the resin – like exudate collected by honey bees from the resins and gums
of plants and trees. Honey bees collect sticky resins that ooze from the buds of some
trees and conifers. After chewing them and mixing them with their saliva and other
substances, Propolis or sometimes called "sticky glue" is formed. Propolis is of vital
importance for the survival of the honey bees in the beehive. Not only does it protect
them against diseases, it also helps fight against climatic changes, such as wind and
coldIt contains resin ( 55%), scent and ethereal oil (10%), wax (30%), pollen (5%) . It is
used by bees for sealing the cracks and crevices. It has an adhesive quality and hence
mixed with Vaseline.It is supposed to have antiallergic and anti bacterial properties. It
also has both healing property and used for preparing ointments that treat cuts, wounds,
etc.
3. Bee Venom: It is an important secretion used by the worker bees as defense mechanism.
It contains active chemicals like histamine, hydrochloric acid, formic acid, calcium,
sulphure, apamine, etc. Commercially it is obtained through electric shock. The hives are
connected to a live circuits of 12-15 volts. Whenever the bees get in touch with the wire
 they recieve the shock which irritates them and they react by depositing venom. Venom
is injected into patients suffering from rheumatism, neuralgia, endoarthritis, necrosis, etc.
It is also known to lower blood pressure and decrease cholesterol level.
4. Bee pollen: It is not the same as allergy-causing pollen that is carried by the wind. It
rarely causes allergy symptoms. It is actually the male seed of a flower blossom which
are collected by the honey bees and mixed with the bees' digestive enzymes.

Bee pollen is low in calories but rich in proteins, amino acids, vitamins, minerals,
enzymes, beneficial fatty acids, carbohydrates, and bioflavonoids which are anti-viral,
antibacterial and helpful in lowering cholesterol, stabilising and strengthening capillaries.
Its ability to rejuvenate the body, stimulates organs, enhances vitality and accelerate rate
of recovery makes it a popular tonic among athletes and sportsmen.
5. Bee bread: It is actually the main source of food for most larvae and bees. It is fed to all
larvae except those that are selected to become queens; the queen larvae are fed royal
jelly instead. Comprised of all essential amino acids, high contents of vitamins especially
vitamin K, enzymes, and flavanoids, bee bread is made of pollen mixed with bits of
honey, bee wax, and bees' digestive enzymes and is known to be useful in treating
anemia, hepatitis, insomnia, stress, failing memory, cholesterol and digestive tract
disorder.

8. Mead: Mead, simply is honey wine. It is the first alcoholic drink brewed by men,
earlier than wine or beer. Today mead has evolved and expanded its flavours to include
fruits such as blueberry and cherry, malt as well as various herbs and spices.
World Bee Day is celebrated on May 20. On this day Anton Janša, the pioneer of
modern beekeeping, was born in 1734 in Slovenia. The purpose of the international day is to
acknowledge the role of bees and other pollinators for the ecosystem. The United Nations
General Assembly in New York unanimously adopted a decision proclaiming 20 May World
Bee Day on 20 December 2017. Every year on this day, the attention of the global public will be
drawn to the importance of preserving bees and other pollinators. People will be reminded of the
importance of bees for the entire humanity and invited to take concrete action to preserve and
protect them. The resolution was co-sponsored by 115 UN Member States, including the USA,
Canada, China, the Russian Federation, India, Brazil, Argentina, Australia and all the European
Union Member States.
Lr.no.6. Bee enemies and their diseases: Insect pests like greater wax moth, lesser wax
moth, wax beetle, wasps, black ants, birds etc.; their identification marks, nature & extent
of damage-prevention & control. Important bee diseases-bacterial, fungal & viral diseases-
detection, prevention &control

Bee enemies: Honey bees like all other creatures suffer from many diseases and attacked by
several insect pests and other natural enemies.

1. Greater Wax moth, Galleria mellonella (Galleridae family)

2. Lesser wax moth, Achroia grisella, (Family: Pyralidae; Order : Lepidoptera)
3. Ants: Black ant, Componotus compressus, house hold red ant, Dorylus labiatus
and Manomorium Spp.
4. Wasps: Yellow banded hornet, Vespa cincta, bee hunter wasp, Philanthus
ramakrishnae
5. Wax beetles: Platybolium alvearium (Tenebrionidae)
6. Death’s head moth, Acherontia styx (enters hive and consumes honey).
7. Other insects: Preying mantids, Robberflies, Dragonflies (capture bees and feed
upon them), cockroaches (impart foul smell to the hive), white ants (damage
wooden parts of hive).
8. Birds: Small green eater, Merops orientalis, king crow, Dicrurus macrocerous,
Black drongo, Dirurus adsimilis.
9. Frogs, Toads and Garden lizards.
10. Monkeys, Macaca mullata

1. Grater wax moth: It enjoys world wide distribution, but it is rear in high attitudes. It
is one of the most important enemies of the bee causing serious damage particularly to
weak colonies where the number of bees are not sufficient enough to cover all the combs.

The adult moth is brownish grey in colour, 10-15 mm long and the outer margins
of the forewings of the male have semi-circular notch whereas they are smooth in
females. Adult female moths enters the hive during night and lay eggs in the cracks and
crevices of the hive and comb. About 200-800 eggs are laid in batches during a fortnight
time, the eggs are creamy white in colour and hatch in 8-10 days into a tiny white
caterpillar about 3 mm long. Full grown caterpillar is dirty grey in colour, cylindrical,
smooth and about 2.5 cm long. Larval period extends over a moth. Pupation takes place
is a white silken cocoon among the debris of the comb. Pupal period is about 8 days.
 The caterpillars live in the silken tunnels made by them and feed on the propolis,
pollen and wax in the comb. As they penetrate the wax layers, particles of wax are
dislodged and fall into the cells and in the hive. The presence of loose dislodged particles
in the hive is the first symptom of attack. When the infestation is serious the comb is seen
covered with silken webs with numerous black faecal particles. In such cases the bees
abandon the colony.

2.The lesser wax moth: Lesser wax moth adults are approximately 10-12 mm long and have
slender bodies. Generally, males are smaller than females. Their coloration ranges from silver-
gray to beige and they have a prominent yellow head. Adult females lay eggs in protected
crevices near a food source. Eggs hatch in 5-8 days. Larval development may take between one
and five months. Larvae tunnel through beeswax comb spinning tunnels of silk, which they cover
in fross (feces). Pupae can It is seen in comparatively higher attitudes. The caterpillars feed
mainly on the debris of the combs. They decap the sealed cells exposing pupae inside and this
diseased condition is referred to as bald brood.

The lesser wax moth is a secondary pest of honey bee colonies, it can only become a nuisance
to colonies that are weakened already by other factor(s), such as a failing queen, pathogens, poor
nutrition, and/or primary pests like Varroa and small hive beetles. Lesser wax moth larvae may
cause a disorder called bald brood. Bald brood occurs when the larvae tunnel under the capped
cells of honey bee pupae. Worker bees find the damaged cappings and chew away what remains
of the cap, exposing the developing honey bee pupae.

Management:

 Maintain the colony strong to resist wax moth.

 Keep the hives without cracks and crevices.
 Reduce the hive entrance size for effective guarding.
 Keep the bottom board neat and clean debris.
 Extra combs stored should be fumigated with methyl bromide/paradichloro
benzene (PDB) or Sulphur.
 In the store rooms, the spare combs should be stored in tightly closed containers.

3.Ants: They attack week colonies and carry away the honey, pollen and the brood.
Attack by ants in week colonies result in destruction and end of the colony. Ex: black ant-
Componotus compressus
Management:
 Providing ant pans around the bases of the stand or oil bands over the stands.
 Under ground ant nests are eliminated by pouring 0.1% cypermethirin emulsion
4.Wasps: The yellow banded wasp is a large wasp with a broad transverse yellow band
on the abdomen. It is a social insect constructing papers nests in hollow spaces. It waits
 near the entrance of the hive, catches bees as they come out, macerates them for feeding
the juice to its young. It captures bees in the field also.
Management:
 Reducing the width of the alighting board of hive to prevent sitting of wasp near
the entrance.
 Destroy wasp nests by burning them.
5.Wax beetles: It is found in the hives under unhygienic conditions feeding on the debris
and old combs in weak colonies. Periodical examination of empty combs and regular
cleaning of the bottom board will control it.
6.Birds: The small green bee-eater, M. orientalis is quite often seen near apiaries sitting
on tall grasses, telephone wires or other vantage points As soon as it sees a flying bee, it
swoops at her and catches her in the long sharp beak eating birds.
A polythene sheet is tied to a long pole and placed in the center of the field near
apiaries. As the sheet flaps and flutters in the breeze, the sound that produced wards off
the birds, use of Acetyl guns mechanical device where in acetylene gas is produced by
the action of water on calcium carbide and the sound scares the birds.
7.Toads, Frogs and Lizards: Toads and frogs are wide spread in India and are seen near
hives or water bodies and cause damage to honey bees. The lizards often sit at the hive
entrance and catch honey bees at ease.

Diseases of Honey bees:

Various diseases are caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoans and mites both in
adult bees and their larvae. Most of these diseases are infectious. The general symptoms of these
diseases are much alike irrespective of casual agent. The diseased bees are unable to fly more
than a few yards, crawl on the ground, climb blades of grass and collect in small groups in front
of the hive. The colony gets weakened in strength in course of time. In case of brood diseases the
larvae are killed, get decomposed. India was free from the diseases till 1956 when a Acarine
disease (mite) was first observed in Punjab and American Foul Brood in U.P. in 1960. These
diseases were probably introduced into the country along with Italian bee.

A. Brood diseases:
1. American Foul Brood (AFB): Caused by bacteria, Bacillus larvae.
2. European Foul Brood (UFB): Caused by bacteria, Melissococcus plutori
3. Sac brood disease : Caused by virus, Moratus aetatulus
4. Thai Sac brood disease: caused by Thaisac brood virus
5. Chalk board disease: Caused by fungus, Ascospheara apis
B. Adult Diseases:
1. Nosema disease: Caused by protozoan, Nosema apis
2. Acarine disease: Caused by tracheal mite, Acarapis woodi

Bacterial Diseases:
1. American Foul Brood: Bacillus larvae is a rod-shaped bacteria and is a gram
positive, it forms oval endospores. These are very resistant to heat and chemical
disinfectants.
Symptoms: It is a disease of larvae which almost always kills them after they spun
cocoons and stretched out on their backs with their head towards the cell cappings, with
their tongue protruding upwards towards the centre of the cell. Diseased brood turns
brown in colour, decomposes to a sticky, semi fluid mass and give off a strong smell like
fish glue. After about a month the larvae dry down to form a dark brown scale, which
sticks to the bottom wall of the cell and is very difficult to remove The cappings over
infected larvae sink inwards, then cell fully open. If a matchstick is inserted into the
larval remains draws out the brown, semi-fluid that remains in a ropy thread.
Management:
 Maintain strong and vigorous colonies by uniting weaker ones.
 During dearth period the colonies should be provided artificial feeding or shifted
to areas with rich bee pasturage.
 De queering for a few days followed by re-queening with healthy vigorous queen
which will remove the infected brood.
 Isolate the infected colonies and avoid exchange of combs or equipments.
 Equipments should be sterilized using formalin or carbolic acid.
 Destroy diseased colonies by burning if the infection is detected in early stages.
 Don’t catch and hive stray swarms which may be carrying infection.
 Chemotherapy: Sodium sulphathiazole @ 0.5 – 1.5 g in 5-15 litres to strong
sucrose syrup fed to colony or oxytetracyclin (Terramycin) @ 0.25 – 0.4g in 5
liters of syrup.
2. European Foul Brood disease : Disease is caused by Melissococcus pluton, a gram
positive bacterium that does not produce spores, but the vegetative cells may remain
infective for several years.
Symptoms: It is a disease of larvae of 4 – 5 days old. The diseased larvae turn yellow
and them brown, at which time the tracheal system may become quite visible. The larvae
decompose, they melt down in the bottom of cell and often some time the remains dry out
 to form a scale .The scales are rubbery rather than brittle as with European Foul Brood
and they are much easier to remove.
Management: Same of American Foul Brood.

American foul brood European foul brood

General appearance of Brood irregular, intermingling Brood irregular
brood comb of capped, open and punctured Dead brood mostly in
cells. Much dead brood in open cells
capped cells, cells with
punctured cappings and cells
uncapped by bees
Time of death Late larval/early pupal stage Coiled larvae in unsealed
cell and rarely late larval
Cell capping Cappings sunken and Some cappings perforated
usually have holes
Consistency of dead brood At first watery/slightly At first soft and watery,
viscid becoming ropy, afterwards pasty, rarely
finally brittle
visual and ropy
Position of dead brood Extended on the cell base Coiled, twisted or collapsed
Colour of dead brood Dull white to dark brown or Dull white to yellowish
almost black white, often dark brown
Odour of dead brood Putrid faint Strong and sour
Appearance of scale of Dark, thin, brittle, adheres to Irregular in colour, thick,
dead larva cell walls easily removed from cell
Brood affected Worker, rarely drone or queen Worker, drone and queen
Control Tetramycin 0.25-0.40 g in 5 lt Tetramycin 0.25-0.40 g in
sugar syrup fed to infected 5 lt sugar syrup fed to
colonies. Repeat after 7-10 infected colonies. Repeat
days after 7-10 days
VIRAL DISEASES:

1.Thai Sac Brood disease: This is a virus disease (TSBV) introduced through A
mellifera. Symptoms of the disease are: death of brood in the pupal cells, pupae with
stretched heads towards the opening tip of the head protruded, pupae turn to Sac like
structure and changed colour. Burning of the infected hive is advocated.

 Keep the colonies strong

 Avoid exchange of hive parts and
 Restrict the bee movement
2.Sac brood virus: Infected larvae fail to pupate and lie stretched on their back with
head turned upwards. Larvae become sac like due to filling of fluid between new integument
and unshed skin. Colour of larvae turns pale yellow and finally become dark brown, the
darkening starts from head.
 Fungal Diseases

1.Chalk Brood disease: This disease is caused by fungus Ascosphaera apis. This disease
is called as chalk brood because the diseased larvae often turn into “mummies” to which
the mycelium of the fungus gives white appearance. Young larvae are effected and the
death usually occurs within 2 days of the cell being sealed. This disease is usually not
serious and appears to be a stress related disease. There is no particular smell associated
with this disease.

2..Stone brood (Asperigillusflavous): Stonebrood is another fungal disease that affects the
honey bees. Larvae that died because of this disease are mummified like those that have
died because of chalkbrood. However, the stonebrood disease makes the infected
individuals green or yellow. The mummies are solid, hard to crush and they do not have
the sponge appearance typical for the chalkbrood disease.
Management:
 Avoid moisture accumulation and poor ventilation since cold and damp weather
conditions encourage the development of disease.
 Chemotherapic treatment: Thymol 0.7%, Amphotericin B, Cetyl Trimethyl
ammonium, sorbic acid and sodium propionate fed to bees in pollen sugar controls
infection.

B. Adult Diseases:

1. Nosema disease: Causal agent is Nosema apis is a microscopic protozoan. It multiplies

exclusively within the epithelial cells of adult bees. Infected bees becomes dysenteric with
distended and swollen abdomen with disjointed wings and found crawling in front of the
hive.

Management:

 More colony strength with sufficient brood food stores and open sunny sites helps in
overcoming the incidence.
 Combs with no honey and pollen can be disinfected with formalin or acetic acid as
done for EFB disease.
 Feed bees with antibiotic – fumigallin @ 0.5 – 3 mg/100 ml syrup.

2. Acarine disease (Isle of Wight disease): Caused by endoparasitic mite (Acarapis

woodi) in adult bees. It infests the trachea of first thorasic spiracle where they suck
haemolymph.

Symptoms:
  Presence of bee crawlers at the hive entrance.
 Bees are unable to fly and wings are disjointed.
 Infested adult bees are short lived.

Management:

 Dusting with sulpur @ 1 gr/comb.

 Menthol and formic acid vapours can be used.
 Absorbent card board is soaked in liquid formic acid and is placed as the floor of the
colony, repeat at seven days interval twice.

The other two mites which infect honey bees are Varroa jacobsoni, Tropilaelaps clarea
and can be seen with naked eye. They feed and breed on the brood and are seen on all the
developmental stages. The colony strength is reduced to a handful bees which ultimately
abscond with their queen. Smoke fumigation with chlorobenzilate is the most effective.
Lr.no.7. Moriculture-Botanical description of mulberry plant, establishment of mulberry
garden- planting season, land preparation, planting material, raising nursery .

Botanical description of mulberry plant

Mulbery botanical name : Morus Spp

Family : Moraceae

Grenus : Morus

Mulberry belongs to genus Morus having more than 68 species. M. alba is native of Indo-
Himalayan region and a perenial tree.

1. White mulberry - Morus alba

2. Indian mulberry - M. indica
3. Black mulberry - M. nigra
4. Red mulberry - M.rubra
5. Russian - M. tartarica
6. Creamy - M Serata

Majority of the species occur in Asia, especially in China (24 species) and Japan (19 species). It
is not present in Australia, poorly represented in Africa, Europe and Middle East. The important
characteristic feature of the mulberry of the family moraceae is the presence of long idioblasts
which is nothing but the enlarged epidermial cells in the leaf. Idioblasser are long cells present in
the upper epidermis of the leaner which contain a cystolith of non-crystiline lime.

Mulberry is a fast growing deciduous woody perennial plant. It has a deep rost system.
The leaves are simple alternate, stipulate, petiolate, entire or lobed and serrated. Number of
lobes varies from 1 to 5. Plants are generally dioecious. Inflorescence is Catkin with pendent or
drooping penduncle bearing unisexual flowers. Inflorescence is always auxillary male. Catkins
are usually longer than the female catkins. Mulberry is unique in possessing both lobed and
unlobed leaves on the same twig (heterophylly). Male flowers are loosely arranged and after
shedding pollen the inflorescence dries and falls off. Number of parianths (sepals), lobes are 4.
Number of stamens are 4 and implexed in bud. Female inflorescence is usually short and the
flowers are very compactly arranged. Number of parianth lebes are 4 and persistent. Ovary is
one-celled and stigma is bifid. The chief pollinating agent is wind. Fruit is a sorosis and the color
of the fruit is mainly violet black.
 Most of the species of genus Morus and cultivated varieties are diploid having 28
chromosomes. However, triploids (2n = (3x)=42) are also extensively cultivated for their
adaptability, vigorous growth and quality of leaves.

Composition of mulberry leaves:

1. Moisture - 75-82%
2. Crude fibre - 9-11%
3. Crude protein - 24-56%
4. Ash (minerals) - 7-8%
5. Crude fat - 3-4%
6. Carbohydrate - 12-20% and also rich in vitamins.

Colour of the bark of the stem varies from green, grey to pink or brown with no. of lenticels
which are important for classification purpose. The fruits are edible and contain:

Water - 85%

Proteins - 0.7%

Fat - 0.4%

Carbohydrates - 12.2%

Fibre - 0.8%

Minerals - 0.4%

Establishment of Mulberry garden:

The scientist of CSB and State Boards have identified specific varieties for different
conditions.

1. Type of plantation: The plantation could be of the tree, middling or bush type. Variety –
V-1 ((Victory) has highest yield potential which is newly evolved variety (67 MT/ha)
a) Tree plantation: S-1301, S-36, S-523, TR-4, Ber-C-776, S-41, S-30, TR-8.
b) Brush type: Kanva-2, Local.
2. Type of Soil:
a) Alluvial soils : S-1, S-1635, S-799.
b) Saline or alkaline: C-776, S-1
c) Laterite soils : C-776, C-763
3. Availability of water:
a) Heavy rainfall areas: S-1, C-763, S-795
 b) Irrigated areas : S-54, S-41, S-36, S-30
c) Rainfed : S-61, S-34, S-24, S-14, S-13
d) Drought tolerant : S-13, 14, 34, C-763, 776

S.No Situation Varieties

recommended

1. Irrigated Kanva-2, S36, RFS

135, RFS 175, V1

2. Rainfed S13, S34, AR11,

Anantha

3. Alkaline with pH up to AR 12
9.5

4. Intercrop in coconut Sahana

5. Moisture stress and low RC-1

input

6. Fertile soils with low RC-2

input

7. Exclusively for chawki G-2

worms

8. Exclusively for late age G-4

worms

Soil :
Mulberry is a deep rooted, perennial, hardy crop. The quality of soil of mulberry garden
influence not only the leaf yield, but also leaf quality, which in turn influences the growth and
development of silkworm, subsequently the quantity and quality of cocoon production. The soil
should be deep, fertile, well drained, clayey loam to loamy in nature, friable, porous with good
moisture holding capacity. The pH of the soil should be around 6.2 to 6.8. Saline and alkaline
soils are not preferred and need improvement through the use of soil amendments like gypsum,
sulphur or green manuring etc.

Climate :
Mulberry comes up well above 600-700 MSL. It can be grown in areas with rainfall of
600 mm to 2500 mm. Mean temperature of 24-280C, relative humidity of 65-80% are ideal for
growth of mulberry. It can be grown with sunshine hours of 5.0-10.2 hrs/day in temperate
conditions and 9.0-13.0 hrs/day under tropics.
Land preparation: Mulberry being a perennial, land is prepared initially. The field is levelled
first. It is ploughed deeply initially using mould-board plough, upto a depth of 12”-15”. Weeds
and gravels are removed. A basal dose of organic manure at the rate of 10 tonnes/ha for rain-fed
and 20 tonnes/ha for irrigated land as added. The manure is incorporated by repeated ploughings.

Planting season and direction: Planting must be done in a season favourable for the growth of
seedlings. It must be avoided in winter and summer. In India, the recommended planting season
is the beginning of the monsoon period (July – August). Avoid planting in the middle of the
rainy season which may result in the rotting of cuttings.

Planting distance: Inter-plant and inter-row distance varies depending upon many factors, chief
among which are: 1) whether mulberry is grown as pure, mixed, companion or hedge crop;
2) Soil fertility; 3) Intensity of cultivation; 4) Agro-climatic conditions; 5) Method of training,
harvesting; 6) Availability of soil water. Maintaining a high plant density will give increase yield
per unit area when climatic conditions and inputs are not a limiting factor. In general, wider
spacing is practiced only under rain-fed conditions.

The inter – plant and inter – row distance recommended for tropical areas is 3’x3’ for
rain-fed and 2’x2’ for irrigated crop. In Southern States, where intense mulberry cultivation is
practiced is 1’x1.5’, 2’x1’, 2’x2’ and 3’x3’. However, now it is felt that, close spacing, while
increasing the yield initially, is not desirable in the long run because it favours quick spread of
diseases and pests, fast depletion of the soil fertility, difficulty in weeding and the quality of the
leaf suffers due to competition for nutrients between plants. It is now felt through slightly wider
spacing is desirable.

Planting system: The major systems of planting followed for mulberry in India are the
following:

1. Pit system: This system is followed for rainfed crop, instead of ploughing the entire
field, pits of standard size (40x40x40 cm.) are dug with an inter-plant and inter-row
distance of 90x90 cm (3’x3’) for bush type, 180 x 90 cm (6’x3’) for high bush type and
270x270 cm (9’x9’) for tree plantation. Equal quanities of organic manure, red soil and
sand are placed in each pit after mixing and a cutting or sapling is planted. It is watered
initially daily till rooting takes place. For hedge, roadside plantation, adopt pit size of
45x45x45 cm.
2. Row system: This system is followed for irrigated crop throughout Southern India.
Ridges and furrows are made with distance between the ridges is 45-60 cm and between
plants is 45-60 cm. Generally the crop is grown as a bush.
3. Kolar system: This is similar to the row system except that the distance between the
plants is very much less. The spacing between rows is 30-45 cm and between plant is 10-
15 cm. This is followed in Kolar district of Karnataka.
 4. Strip system: this very close system of cultivation is practiced in West Bengal, where
crop is grown in strips. Each strip has either two rows (Dothaki) or three row (Thethaki).
Each strip is separated from the adjacent strip by a wide distance so that harvesting and
inter-cultivation can be done using small tractors or other machines. Within the strip,
plants are planted at a distance of 15 cm between row and between plants within the row.
5. Angular system (Triangular system): This new system of cultivation developed for the
slopes of Nilgiris. The distance between the plants is similar to the pit system, i.e. 90 cm.
but the plants in adjacent rows are planted in such a way that they form a triangle. This
system allow more number of plants per unit area, better soil and moisture conservation,
efficient cultural operations, increased leaf production, better supervision and efficient
and economic water management.

Planting material: Two methods of propagation practiced for mulberry cultivations are: 1)
Seedling propagation, 2) Vegetative propagation and 3) Micro propagation (through
biotechnology) - Tissue culture.

1. Seeding propagation: Seeding propagation is rarely practiced by commercial rearers

because the quality of the variety cannot be maintained as mulberry is – harmally a wind
cross pollinated plant. This method involves lolong gestation period before leaves can be
harvested for silkworm rearing. However, this is the normal method of propagation in
research centres where breeding studies are carried out to produce varied population for
selection and hybridization.
The seeds are extracted from ripe fruits during March-April. There is no
dormancy period for the seeds, so freshly collected seeds are sown for high germination
percentage. They can be stored for not more than 3 months.
2. Vegetative propagation: This is the most popular method used for commercial
production. Its chief advantages are the following;
a) The desired hereditary characters can be maintained throughout.
b) Large no. of plants can be raised quickly and economically.
c) Pest and disease free plants can be raised.
d) Plants adapted to specific localities can be grown.

The vegetative propagation methods falls under three main categories: 1) Cutting, 2) Grafting
and 3) Layering.

1) Cutting: This is the most popular method of cultivation in South India. Shoots of proper
maturity and thickness with active, well developed buds are chosen for preparing
cuttings. The tips of very tender branches and bases of over-mature branches are rejected.
 Pencil-thick branches (10 -12 mm dia) from 8-10 month-old plants of the desired variety
are used for preparing cuttings. The branches cut into 18-20 cms (7-8”) long cuttings with
a minimum of three internodes with 3 well developed buds are used for irrigated
plantations and with 5-6 internodes for rainfed plantations. Care should be taken that the
ends are cut cleanly with sharp knife with no splits or peelingsin the barks. The cuttings
are placed in the nursery beds with about 2.5 cm of the cutting with one node projecting
above the ground. The cuttings are watered daily and in ten days, roots develop from
buds in the internode below the soil and leaves from the bud above the soil (Fig). Rooting
can be induced by the use of root hormones and growth regulators like IAA, IBA, NAA,
2.4-D or commercial products like rootone, seradix etc.
The cuttings may be planted directly in the fields or may be grown in a nursery and then
transplanted. In the later case, after 2-3 months, they are transplanted to the fields.

Irrigation methods :

Judicious use of water for maximum production is important. During dry p4eriod, irrigation
should be given at 7 to 15 days interval depending upon soil condition and water holding
capacity.
Loamy sols – Once in 10 days
Clayey soils – Once in 15 days
a) Furrow method :
_ Field is laid into ridges and furrows.
_ Only one irrigation channel for every two rows of mulberry.
_ Evaporation from soil surface is less.
_ More efficient from the point of economy in water use.
_ Furrow serves as drainage channel during heavy rains and avoids water stagnation.
b) Basin method :
_ Suitable for tree plantation.
c) Flat bed method :
_ Field is divided into rectangular bed with bunds all around and channels on sides.
_ Bed size varies from 3.5 x 2.0 m to 4.0 x 6.0 m.
_ Irrigation quicker but more labour required to make beds.
d) Overhead/Sprinkler method :
_ Practiced in undulating lands where lower and high bushes are cultivated.
_ Most efficient in economizing water use.
e) Micro irrigation by drip :
_ More efficient in economizing water use.

Manure/fertilizer Row system Pit system

FYM (t/ha)

Irrigated 20 20

Rainfed 10 10

NPK (kg/ha)

Irrigated 300::120:120 300::120:120

Rainfed --- 100.50.50

---

Fertilizer schedule 5 splits 6 splits

In two equal splits, i.e. first dose in August at 6 to 8 weeks after application of FYM and
second dose in late November during NE monsoon rains.

Fertiliser Schedule: (NPK Kg/ha)

Phase Time Row system Pit system

I 1st leaf harvest 60-60-60 60-60-60

II 2nd 60-60-60 40-00-00

III 3rd 60-60-60 40-00-00

IV 4th 60-60-60 60-60-60

V 5th 60-60-60 40-00-00

VI 6th 60-60-60 40-00-00

60-60-60

Total 300:120:120 280-120-120

Pruning :

Certain branches of mulberry are periodically cut to give a proper shape and size to the
plant, inorder to increase the leaf yield and its feeding value. This is known as pruning.
Pruning objectives:
_ To maintain a convenient height, shape and size of the plant.
_ To induce more vegetative growth
_ To synchronize leaf production with leaf requirement
_ To extend leaf production period.
_ To remove dead and defunct wood.
_ To expose plant for better sunlight and aeration
_ To make cultural operations easier.
Types of Pruning :
Based on the height of the plant from ground level where it is cut, there are 3 types of
pruning.
a. Low cut pruning : It is widely practiced in Japan. Plant is cut at a level less than 0.5
m above ground level.
b. Medium cut pruning : Plant is cut at a height of 0.5 to 1.5 m above ground level.
Large number of branches grows, but only 3-4 on the upper part are retained.

c. High cut pruning : Plant is cut at a height of more than 1.5 m above ground level.
Leaf quality is poor with low moisture. Harvesting difficult due to more height. Less
damage due to floods, but more susceptible to pests, diseases and winds.

Precautions to be taken while pruning :

The cut should be clean without any cracks.
The bark around the cut should be intact without any peels.
Cut ends should be washed with lime to prevent entry of pathogens.
Application of fungicides, wax coating to cut ends should be done.

During pruning, the injured region is susceptible to infection, leading to rotting and
formation of dry and dead branches. Pruning also affects photosynthesis and hence the plant
growth. When the shoots are cut off, sap oozes out of cut ends due to respiratory and root
pressures.

To avoid excessive oozing of sap, the following pruning methods are useful.

a) Step up Pruning :
-Annual basal pruning is done to obtain first crop.
-For obtaining second crop, primary branches are cut 15 cm from the base.
-To obtain third, fourth and final cops the secondary, tertiary and tetra branches are cut
10 cm from the base.
-Finally the primary branches are cut to the base and the process is repeated next year.
b) Step down pruning :
_ To obtain first crop, annual basal pruning is done.
_ For obtaining second crop, primary branches are cut to about 60 cm after first harvest.
_ To obtain third, fourth and fifth crop, the branch height is reduced to 45, 30 and 15 cm
respectively at each pruning.
_ Finally, the branches are cut to the base and the process is repeated.

Training :
Systematic pruning to give a specific shape to mulberry plant is called training.
1. Fist form of training :
Due to repeated pruning of branches at the same place every year, the top part of the trunk
gradually increases in diameter without any increase in height. It resembles the shape of a closed
fist when freshly pruned and is called the fist form of pruning. There can be simple, double or
triple fist depending up on the number of fists allowed to develop.
2. Non fist form training :
The branching of point of shoot increases every year as branches are cut at a higher level above
the branching point. For both fist and non fist form of training, low, medium and high
end pruning is followed. These are known as Ono style, Yamagata style and Akita style
respectively.

Leaf harvesting :

Leaf harvested during afternoon contain less water and more of carbohydrates due to active
photosynthesis and transpiration taking place in day time and such leaves wither very quickly.
Hence, leaf harvesting in early morning hours is recommended.
a) Leaf picking :
Leaves are picked individually from main stem with petioles. At the same time, terminal buds
are nipped off so that lateral shoots develop rapidly. It requires more labour and leaves
wither quickly.
b) Branch cutting (Batchi system in Kashmir) :
The entire branch is harvested and used to feed worms after third moult directly. It requires less
labour and leaves retain succulence for longer period.
c) Whole shoot harvest :
The branches are cut to ground level by bottom pruning. The entire shoot is fed to leaves. Shoots
are harvested at 10-12 weeks interval and 5-6 harvests are made per year

Selection of nursery site:

l .Site should be flat and elevated

2.Avoid low lying and submersible areas
3.Sandy loams to clay loams with light textured, good drainage with 6.5-7.5 pH and 3’ soil depth
is ideal for establishing nursery
4.Site should be free from nematode and termite infestation.
5.Adequate irrigation facility as irrigation is the most important component of nursery activity
Land preparation : The land should be tilled properly before planting to bring the soil to fine
tilth. Land should be free from weeds and stubbles and leveled properly. FYM is to be
incorporated @ 10 and 20 t/ ha for rainfed and irrigated crops, respectively as basal dose.

Preparation of nursery bed:

1.Select 800 sq.m. area of red loamy soil near water source for raising saplings for planting one
hectare of main field.
2.Plough the land at least two times. Dig to depth of 30-40 cm and pulverize the soil
If soil is heavy clay, add some sand and mix
If soil is sandy, add tank silt or FYM and mix.
Apply 15kg FYM per bed, mix well with soil
3.Apply 15 kg of Farm Yard Manure (FYM) per 15mtX1.5 mt bed @ 20 t/ha and mix well with
the soil.
4.Raised nursery beds of 4m x 1.5m or 3m x 1m size and 10 cm height can be prepared . The
length may be of convenient size depending upon the slope, irrigation source, etc.
5.Irrigate 15 days prior to planting of cuttings to allow all weeds to germinate.
-Remove weeds by light hoeing just before planting the cuttings.
-Provide a drainage channel
-Avoid shady area.
Selection of material for seed cuttings
-Stock plant from where cuttings are obtained should be true to type and free from pests and
diseases
-Collect seed cuttings from exclusive seed gardens of 6-8 months growth after pruning
Pre-treatment of cuttings
-Mix one kilogram of Azospirillum culture in 40 liters of water.
-Keep the bottom end of the cuttings for 30 minutes in it before planting. Azospirillum is applied
for inducement of early rooting.
Plating in nursery bed:
1. Plant the cuttings in rows with a spacing of 15cm
2. Keep a spacing of 10cm between plants with in row
3. Push full length of cutting into soil by keep only one bed exposed above the soil
4. Irrigate the beds periodically
5. After about 5-6 weeks, observe the buds sprouting
6. Then apply fertilizer N,P,K@25:25:25/kg ha
7. Plant the saplings after 80-90 days

Nursery planting

-Apply VAM @ 100 g/m2 of nursery area.

-Irrigate the nursery bed. Plant the cuttings in the nursery as quickly as possible at 15 cm x 7 cm
or 20cm x 10cm spacing at an angle of 45o.
-Ensure exposure of one active bud in each cutting.

Nursery management

-Irrigate the nursery once in three days.

-Sprouting starts after 10.12 days of planting. Root initiation starts around 30 days after planting
and root system develops after 70-80 days of planting.
-Allow only one shoot to develop from each cutting
-Weeding to be done two times; first at 35-40 days after planting and second after 60 days of
planting
-After weeding, apply 100 g of urea/m2 between 55 and 60 days after planting atthe time of
weeding.
-Dust one kg of any one of the following chemicals around the nursery bed to avoid termite
attack.
1. malathion 5 D
2. quinalphos 1.5 D
To avoid root rot and collar rot, drench the soil with carbendazim 50 WP (2 g/l) orapply
Trichodermaviride 0.5 g/m2 using rose can.
Lr.no. 8. Planting under rainfed and irrigated conditions. Pests & diseases in mulberry &
their management
Planting under Rainfed and Irrigated condition: Mulberry can be cultivated under soil
moisture stress (semi-arid or rainfed) and irrigated conditions. Under rainfed condition, true soil
moisture stress is experienced when annual rainfall is < 700 mm with limited no. of rains days.
Nearly 1/3rd of mulberry area in South India belong to this category. Generally, the yield and
quality of leaf are poor under such condition. Specific package of practices has been developed
aimed at improving both the yield and quality of leaf under rainfed conditions.
Rainfed condition:

Special practices involve:

1. Use of high yielding varieties such as s-13 in red loamy soils and S-34 in black cotton
soils.
2. Measures for better establishment during initial stages of plantation.
3. Suitable practices emphasizing soil moisture conservations.
4. Timely plant protection measures are essential.
1. Selection of land and land preparation:
 Flat or slightly sloppy land is suitable.
 More sloppy or steep lands need proper land shaping.
2. Planting:
 Pit system of planting with wider spacing of 90 x 90 cm and pits are filled with a
mixture of soil and FYM (2 kg /pit).
 Planting saplings is better over planting cuttings (4 months old).
3. Others:
 Do not take early leaf harvest before the plants attain full growth (after one year
only)
 The first pruning is done in the following rainy season.
 Fertilizer requirement / AC is 25:25:25 kg NPK during year of establishment and
50:50:50 from 2nd year onwards.
 Do annual bottom pruning with the commencement of the monsoon (1st week of
June).
 Apply bulk organic manures @ 10 t/AC within 10-15 days of pruning.
 Practice green manuring with cowpea/Horse gram to improve soil health and to
conserve the soil moisture insitu .
 Leaf harvesting is done only by leaf picking about 2 ½ months after pruning and
2nd harvesting 2 months after first harvest and a total of 6 leaf harvestings are
taken at 2 months interval.
 Approximate leaf yield is 7 – 8 MT/ha during 2nd year and 10 – 12 MT/ha from 3rd
year onwards.

Irrigated condition:

Special practices involve:

 Use of high yielding varieties – K2, S36, Viswa, V1.

  Apply FYM @ 200 MT/AC and land is divided into plots of convenient size and adopt
convenient appropriate planting system. Paired row system is considered as most
suitable.
 Planting material can be cuttings from 6 – 8 months old shoots or 3 -4 months old
saplings.
 The suitable season for planting is during June-August.
 Irrigation should be provided at regular intervals of 6 – 8 days depending on the soil
condition. Water requirement for one irrigation (1.5 acre inch) is 33,000 gallons (1 gallon
= 4.55 liters).

Pests and Diseases in Mulberry & their management:

PESTS:

1. Bihar hairy caterpillar : Spilosoma (Diacrisia) obliqua

Arctidae ; Lepidoptera

It is voracious feeder causing extensive damage to mulberry.

Life history :

Adults are light brown in colour with brick red abdomen, having dark rows of spots
laterally and dorsally. Female lays about 1000-2000 eggs in batches on ventral surface of leaf.
The eggs hatch in 5-7 days. The young larvae are gregarious in nature. The grown up
larvae possess prominent setae (hairs) dorsally and laterally. The anterior and posterior regions
are black in colour while rest of the body is reddish brown. The caterpillar moults 6 times and
the larval duration lasts for 28-30 days. The pupation occurs in soil in a loose cocoon like
structure. The pupa is brown in colour and its period lasts for 12-14 days. The life cycle is
completed in about 48 days.

Symptoms :

The young caterpillars feed on the chlorophyll layer of the leaf exposing the veins which
impart dried/dead appearance to the leaves (Skeletonization). The grown up larva feed on the
entire leaf rendering the branches without leaves.

Management :

-Monitor the garden regularly for collection and destruction of egg masses and gregarious
young caterpillars.
-Ploughing the caterpillar infested garden to a depth of about 15cm to expose pupae to
scorching sun on to the sight of its natural enemies like birds.
-Flood irrigation will help to kill the pupae.
-Digging trenches (30 cm width and 30 cm depth) around the garden and dusting with
Methyl Parathion 1.5 % dust helps to check migration of caterpillars from other gardens.
-Mulberry leaves from one/two rows of plants around the garden along the trench should
not be harvested for silk worm rearing.
-Spray DDVP @ 0.2% or dimethoate @ 0.2% prepared in 0.5% soap solution. Safe
period is 12 and 13 days respectively.

2.Tukra disease: (Mealy bugs):

It is caused both in irrigated and rainfed gardens by the pink mealybug, Maconellicoccus
hirsutus. Pseudococcidae : Hemiptera.
Pink mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green) causes deformity symptom in
mulberry which is popularly called as Tukra. Leaves become dark green, wrinkled & thickened
with shortened inter nodal distance resulting in bunchy top appearance/resetting of leaves. It
occurs throughout the year, but severe during summer months. Mulberry leaf yield is reduced by
4,500 kg/ha/yr due to this pest.

It occurs on mulberry throughout the year. Their population is negligible during rainy
season, but gradually increases during winter and reaches maximum proportion during
summermonths.

Life cycle :

The female lays about 350-500 eggs in a loose cottony egg sac during a week time. Eggs
hatch in 5-10 days. The emerging crawlers are orange in colour. The females have 3 nymphal
instars, while males have 4. Males, when fully grown forms a white case, inside which they
transform into tiny, active two winged fly like insects. The crawlers feed by sucking the sap
from leaves or tender stem portions. Life cycle lasts for about a month. Females are bigger and
wingless throughout their life.

Symptoms of damage :

_ Damage leads to curling and crinkling of leaves of apical shoots.

_ Swelling and twisting of apices of internodes.
_ Flattening and thickening of the affected part of the shoot.
_ Shoots become brittle.
_ Leaves become dark green in colour and deformed.
_ White cottony mealy bugs and crawlers seen at the base of leaves in the malformed
regions of branches.

Management :

_ Clipping of affected apical shoots and their destruction.

_ Do not burry the infested plant parts in soil as nymphs/crawlers may crawl back on to the
plant to infest it.
_ Weeds viz., Phyllanthus niruri, Clitoria ternatea which harbour the mealy bugs may be
destroyed.
_ Mass release of Cryptolaemus montrouzeri, a predatory beetle @ 250 adults/acre.
_ Spray Dichlorvos or Oxydemeton methyl or Monocrotophos @ 0.2% twice at an interval
of 10-12 days, mixed with 0.5% soap solution (50 g of soap dissolved in 10 litres of water).
_ Safe period for leaf harvesting is 3 days after second application of dichlorvos and 20
days after application of oxydemeton methyl or monocrotophos. followed by silvery blotches.

Thrips :

Pseudodendrothrips mori, Thripidae: Thysanoptera

 Incidence of thrips was high during dry weather with low rain fall and in rainfed
mulberry. Thrips, Pseudodendrothrips mori, is a major pest in Tamil Nadu and minor pest in
Karnataka & Andhra Pradesh. It occurs throughout the year and severe during summer (February
- April). Both adults and nymphs lacerate the leaf tissues and suck the oozing sap. Affected
leaves show streaks in early stages and yellowish/brown blotches in the advanced stage of attack.

Nature and extent of damage :

Both adults and nymphs lacerate the leaf tissue and suck the oozing cell sap from young
buds and leaves. The infested parts get hardened; leaves become brittle, malformed with reduced
leaf area. In addition, sap extraction by the thrips results in necrosis and drying up of leaves. Due
to thrips attack, the epidermal cells get punctured, leaves and buds become rudimentary resulting
in premature fall. During laceration, the thrips secrete saliva which coagulate with sap resulting
in the formation of white streaks in early stage

Biology :

The females are dark brown, measuring 0.9 mm in length. They reproduce both sexually
and parthenogenitically. Female lays eggs on ventral side of tender leaves which hatch in 6-8
days. The nymphs are pale yellow and lasts about 15-18 days. The pest completes 7-8
generations a year.

Management :

I. Cultural methods :
a) Clean cultivation :
_ Removal of alternate hosts/weeds helps in regulating thrips.
_ Periodical ploughing and digging helps in exposing the thrips pupae to hot sun and
natural enemies.
1. Pruning : Thrips population is low in kolar/row planting where whole short harvest is
practiced.
2. Physical methods : Sprinkler irrigation reduces thrips population. Frequent
irrigation helps in increasing the pupal mortality in soil.
3. Resistant/tolerant varieties : Mysore local harbours low thrips population due to its
higher leaf surface with, maximum trichomes/hairs on upper/lower surface of leaf
with maximum leaf thickness.
4. Biological methods : Predatory thrips, Scolothrips indicus, Parasites, Tetrastichus
sp.
5. Chemical methods : Spraying with DDVP @ 0.2% / Dimethoate @ 0.1% with a safe
period of 3 and 15 days, respectively.

4.Mites :

About 15 sps of mites belonging to Tetranychidae and Eriophyidae are known to infest
mulberry. Of them, the important ones are:
a) Bud mites, Aceria morikcifes (Eriophydae)
b) Tetranychus equitorius (Tetranychidae)
c) T. ludani (Tetranychidae)

Mite injury :
 Mites are found on the leaves, bud scales, nodes and apical shoots. Both nymphs and
adults insert their stylets in to leaf tissue and suck the sap. The affected portion of the plant turns
grayish white and ultimately withers. The leaves infested by T.ludani show white speckles at the
place of feeding. With increase in intensity of feeding, the speckles increase in number and
gradually coalesce with one another, finally producing large patches. Infested plants remain
stunted for a longer period without any sign of growth.

Seasonal incidence :

The population of T.equitorius is maximum during March-April and May-June. From

June to August, the population declines and then remains at a lower level upto January-February.
The low temperature (25.5 to 270C) and high humidity (85-90%) coupled with heavy rainfall
affects the population.

Management :

_ Pruning of affected plant parts and then destruction.

_ Dipping mulberry cuttings in 0.1% of monocrotophos / phosphomidon is effective in
killing mites.
_ Spraying of Phosalone / Endosulfan @ 0.5% against T.ludeni /T. equitorius with a safe
period of 9 days.

5.Jassid/ Leaf hopper: Empoas caflavescense, Cicadellidae, Homoptera

Type of damage: Adults and nymphs attack leaves from lower side of the margin of veins and
deplete leaf nutritive value
Symptoms: Hopper burn dark brown spots at the tip and margin of leaves. Drying starts from
periphery to midrib of the leaf. Finally leaves become cup shaped and wither
Management: Spray Dichlorovos 76 WSC @ 2ml/lt

6.Spiralling whitefly- Aleurodicus isperses, Aleyrodidae, Homoptera

Type of damage: Nymphs and adults cause damage. Desaping the leaves. Depletes nutritive
value of leaves
Symptoms:
- Adults and nymphs congregate on the lower surface of leaves
- Desap the leaves, results in yellowish speckling on leaves
- Leaves crinkle and curl and sooty mold appears
Management:
1. Collection & destruction of leaves with egg masses, nymphs and adults
2. Setting up yellow sticky traps
3. Removal weeds
4. Spray Fish oil Rosin soap @ 40 g/lt or Dichlorovos @ 2ml.

5.Root-knot disease :
It is caused by an endoparasitic nematode i.e., Meloidogyne incognita. It was first
reported on mulberry in 1911 by Bessy. The males are small and worm like while the females
are pear shaped. Each female lays 400-500 eggs in a mucilaginous egg sac attached to the root
surface. The young ones hatch out as second stage larvae after undergoing first moult within the
egg. They are highly infective and enter the roots to induce galls. Soil moisture is essential for
the movement of larvae and hence the disease is prevalent under irrigated conditions.
Nature of infection :
The roots damaged by the disease lose their efficiency to absorb the available moisture
and nutrients from the soil resulting in reduced metabolic function leading to the deterioration in
leaf quality and yield.

Symptoms :
a) On above the ground parts :
_ Stunted growth
_ Poor and delayed sprouting
_ Reduced leaf size and yield
_ Chlorosis and marginal necrosis of leaves
_ Yellowing and wilting of leaves in spite of adequate soil moisture availability and
_ Death of plants in severe cases.
These symptoms first appear as isolated patches, slowly spreading over the entire garden.
b) On the underground parts :
_ Formation of galls/knots on roots.
_ Reduced and stubbier root system.
_ Necrotic lesions on root surfaces anath of roots.
Management :
Cultural methods.
_ Saplings free of nematode infection should be used for planting.
_ Minimise the damage by providing adequate nutrition, moisture etc.
_ Heavily infected soils should be deep ploughed to expose nematodes and eggs to solar
radiation.
_ Inter cultivation with nematicidal plants like Marigold (Tagetus erecutus), Sesame
(Sesamum orientale) etc. is known to reduce the population of nematodes.
_ Application of oil cakes @ 4 ton/ha, green manure etc.
Chemical methods :
_ Application of carbofuran @ 40 kg/acre to the soil around plants or in burrows.
_ Leaves from treated plants can be fed to worms after 45 days.

Diseases:

1. Leaf spot- Cercospora moricola

2. Powdery mildew- Phyllactinia corylea
3. Leaf rust- Cerotelium fici
4. Leaf blight- Alternaria alternata, Fusarium pallidoroseum
5. Root rot- Macrophomina phaseolina
6. Bacterial leaf blight- Pseudomonas mori

1.Leaf spot: Cercospora moricola:

It is more prevalent during rainy season followed by winter. The disease starts progressing
35-40 days after pruning (DAP)/leaf harvesting and becomes severe on the 70th DAP.

Symptoms: Brownish necrotic, irregular spots appear on the leaf surface. Spots enlarge,
extend and join together leaving characteristic ‘shot hole’. Leaves become yellow and wither off
as disease becomes severe.
Control: Spraying of 0.2 % Bavistin (Carbendazim 50% WP) solution on the leaves. Safe
Period: 5 days.
2.Leaf rust: Cerotelium fici
Initially, circular pinhead sized brown eruptive lesions appear on the leaves and later
leaves become yellow and wither off.
Control: Follow wider spacing of plantation (90 cm x 90 cm) or paired row planting system
[(90 +150) × 60 cm]. Avoid delayed leaf harvest. Spraying 0.2% Kavach (Chlorothalonil 75 %
WP) on the leaves. Safe period: 5 days.
3.Powdery mildew- Phyllactinia corylea
White powdery patches appear on the lower surface of the leaves. The corresponding
portions on the upper surface develop chlorotic lesions. When severe, the white powdery patches
turn to brownish-black; the leaves become yellow, coarse and loose their nutritive value.
Control: Follow wider spacing of plantation (90 cm x 90 cm) or paired row planting system
[(90 +150) × 60 cm]. Spraying of 0.2 % Karathane (Dinocap 30% EC) / Bavistin on the lower
surface of the leaves. Safe period 5 days. Or spray Sulfex (80WP) 0.2%, safe period 15 days.
4.Leaf blight: Alternaria alternata, Fusarium pallidoroseum
The disease starts as browning/ blackening of leaves starting either from the leaf tip or
edges of leaf lamina in the form of isolated irregular brown coloured patches. As the disease
spreads the entire leaf surface is affected resulting in fall of leaves.
Control: Remove the infested leaves, collect in a polythene bag and destroy by burning. Follow
wider spacing of plantation (90 cm x 90 cm) or paired row planting system [(90 +150) × 60
cm] . Spray 0.2 % Indofil M-45 (Mancozeb 75 % WP) solution on the leaves.
5.Bacterial leaf blight: Pseudomonas mori
Numerous blackish brown irregular water soaked patches appear on the leaves resulting
in curling and rotting of leaves.
Control: Remove the infested leaves, collect in a polythene bag and destroy by burning.
Follow wider spacing of plantation (90 cm x 90 cm) or paired row planting system [(90 +150) ×
60 cm] . Spray 0.2% Streptomycin solution or 0.2% Indofil M-45 (Mancozeb 75% WP) on the
leaves.
6.Root rot: Rhizoctonia bataticola (= Macrophomina phaseolina);
Initially the above ground symptom of the disease appears sudden withering of plants and
leaves fall off from the bottom of the branches and progressing upwards.
Control: Uproot the infected plant and the stump and root portions are burnt. Application
of Neem cake @ 1 tonne/ha in 4 split doses. Application of antagonistic fungus T.viridae @ 25
gr/plant. Drenching the soil with Carbendazim @ 10ml of 1% concentration per plant.
Lr.no.9. Sericulture- Brief history of sericulture in India, kinds of silkworms, their
systematic position, brief life cycle & distribution, morphology and classification of
mulberry silkworm; silk glands

The word “Sericulture” is derived from the Greek, “sericos” meaning “silk” and the English
“Culture” meaning “rearing”. Sericulture refers to the conscious mass-scale rearing of silk
producing organisms inorder to obtain silk from them.

Brief history of sericulture in India:

 The first authentic reference to silk is found in the chronicles of the Chou King of China
(2200 B.C). The King is reported to have pointed out to the Empress XI Ling Shi the
worms destroying the mulberry plants in his garden. As she tried to gather the cocoons,
she accidentally dropped one of them into a bowl of hot tea While trying to recover the
cocoon from the hot liquid with a spoon, she discovered that a very fine and very long
lustrous thread unwound itself from the cocoon. She had discovered silk and the process
of obtaining it from the cocoons.
 The Chinese guarded the secret of silk working for hundreds of year in the Chou-Chang
district. From china the secret of silk-making spread first to Korea through Chinese
immigrants from where it spread to Japan.
 From China, the secret of sericulture spread to Tibet when a Chinese Princess, who
married the King of Koten, carried mulberry and silk worm seeds in her head apparel.
From Tibet, it is reported to have spread to India.
 Spread of sericulture to the Europeans and Western countries occurred through the
famous SILK ROAD. Silk road was a prestigious network of trade routes linking
civilization of East represented by China with the West represented by Rome (6400 Km
long).

Sericulture in India:

a. Sericulture in the pre-British period:

 From various references in literature, it is clear that the silk had a prestigious place in the
culture and commerce of India even in the pre-vedic times.
 Raw silk was exported from India to Rome during the reigns of Kanishka in 58 B.C.
probably through the silk road.
 In this period sericulture flourished in the states of West Bengal, Mysore and Kashmir.’
 Each sericulture state in India has a traditional reputation for a particular kind of silk
goods from ancient time. Benaras Silk, Kashimir Silk, Bengal Silk, Mysore Silk,
 Kanjeevaram Silk etc. Each state followed its own rearing method, used local worms
races and local mulberry varieties, traditional reeling and weaving techniques.
b. Sericulture during the British period:
 It was during the British reign that the foundations for the modern Indian silk industry
was laid. The East India Company as soon as it established itself in West Bengal, saw
the immense potential of Indian silk and silk products started trade in it in 1670 itself. It
took immediate steps to promote sericulture and by liberal – tax emption schemes. It
invited foreign specialists to give proposals for the improvement of Indian Sericulture
and took steps to import foreign silk worm races mulberry races, and reeling appliances,
particularly from Italy and France. These improvements spread to the South India also
and it was at this time that Tipu sultan established Mysore Silk Industry and James
Anderson introduced sericulture in the Madras presidency.
 Separate sericulture departments were created in Karnataka (1911), and Madras (1919)
and the first Sericulture Research Station at Berhampur, West Bengal (1943) helped the
industry in India to make rapid strides.
 The Govt. of India created a Silk Development Directorate in 1945 and organized an All
India Silk conference in 1947.
c. Sericulture after Independence:
 Legislation in the constituent Assembly of India to establish a Central Silk Board (CSB)
was introduced in 1947 and it was established in 1949 in Banglore. The CSB has been
entrusted with the overall responsibility of developing the silk industry including the
formulation of policies governing imports and exports. It is a body, presently under the
administrative control of the Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India. It has 36 members,
including the chairman. It is reconstituted every three years. It has launched the
National Sericulture project (1989-1994) with the collaboration of 5 states (Karnataka,
TN, A.P., West Bengal and Jammu & Kashmir).
 For mulberry sericulture, there are two Central Sericulture Research and Training
Institutes (CSR & IT) at Mysore (1961) and Berhampore.
 Four other non-mulberry sericulture institutes:
1. The Central Tasar Research & Training Institute – Ranchi.
2. The Central Mnga Research Institute – Jorhat.
3. The Central Eri Research & Training Institute – Mandhipathar.
4. The Central Eri & Muga Research Station– Titabar.
 The national silkworm seed project, Bangelore (NSSP) was setup in 1981 for the
production and supply of quality silk worms.
  The central silk Technology Research Institute (CSTRI) was established in Bangalore in
1983 which carries out research in silk reeling, spinning and processing.
 The silk worm seed technology laboratory (SSTL) was set up at Bangalore in 1991 to
support needs of seed technology part of sericulture.
 The Seribiotech laboratory was setup in 1993 to introduce biotechnology research in
sericulture.

Kinds of silk worms: Based on the organisms producing it, silk is classified into Insect Silk and
non-insect silk. Insect silk is commercially important. The majority of silk producing insects
belong to the order Lapidoptera, super family Bombyloideand families Bombycidae or
satunridae. Nearly 95% of commercial insect silk comes from the mulberry silk worm Bombyx
mori known as mulberry silk. Commercial silk from an other sources is collectively called non-
mulberry silk. The major non-mulberry silk worms include the following.

Commercial silk producing methods of India:

Family & silk worm Main host Domesticated Cocoon & Silk Producing
plant(s) or wild states

1. Bombycidae Mulberry Domesticated Reelable, West Bengal,

Mulberry silk worm, (Morus spp) white/creamy Kashimr,
Bomby x mori Karnataka,
Andhra
Pradesh

3. Saturnidae Asan (Termin Wild (account Reelable, Bihar, Orissa

alia for about 90% Brown/coppery, Map
tomentosa) of non- Cocons large,
a) Indian tropical mulberry silk) thick and
Tasar silk worm- A. pedunculate
mylitta

Chinese Tasar worm-

A. pernyi Arujn
(I.Arjuna)
Japanese tasar wom-
A. yamamami

Indian temperate tasar

silkworm-A. proyeli

b. Muga silkworm Som Semi- Reelable, Assam

(Antheraea assama) (Machilus domesticated golden yellow,
bombycing), unique
Soalu (Litsaea monopoly of
 polyantha) India Coons and
large, string
weakly
pedumcuated

c. Eri silk worm Castor Damesticated Un reelable, Assam

(Philasomia ricini) (Richinug white, cocoons
communis) very weakly
pedunculate and
open at one end

d. Others: - - - -

1..Anaphe silk worm

2.Gonometa silk
worm

3.Fagara silk worm

4.Coan silk worm

Systematic position of mulberry silk worms:

Class: Insecta

Sub Class:Pterygota Sub Class:Apterygota

Division:Exopterygota Division:Endopterygota

Order: Lepidoptera

Superfamily:Bombycoidea
 Family:Bombycidae Family:Saturnidae

Genus:Bombyx Genus:Philosamia

Mori mandarina ricinisynthia

Genus:Antheraea

Mylitta proylei perni yamamai assama

Life cycle: Mulberry silk worms undergoes complete metamorphosis and has four stages in its
life cycle – egg, larva, pupa and adult. The duration of each stage varies according to its
inherited characters of the race and according to the environmental conditions like climate during
rearing and quality of food. Based on the no. of generation the race undergoes in a years, it is
called univoltine, bivoltine and multivoltine. The duration of each stage of life cycle is longer in
the univoltine than in the multivoltines.

Duration of the development stages: (in days)

Stale Univoltine Bivoltin Multivoltine

e

1. Embryonic period 11 – 14 11 – 14 9 – 12
(Egg)
24 - 26 24 – 26 20 – 24
2. Larva
12 – 15 12 – 15 10 – 12
3. Pupa
6 – 12 60 10 3–4
4. Adult

The duration of life cycle spent in the egg stage varies depending upon whether it is
diapausing or non-diapausing egg. Duration of egg varies depending on the race, seasons and
nutrition during the larval stages. The larvae moults 3, 4 or 5 times and has 4, 5 or 6 larval instars
respectively. Most of the races are tetra – mouters and have five instars.

Final instar larvae, after full growth empties its gut, stop feeding and spins the cocoon of
silk around itself. At this stage it is called a pupae. After spinning, it moults into the pupa inside
cocoon. The pupa is non-feeding and inactive stage. The larval structures are destroyed and adult
structures are differentiated. The adult breaks open the cocoon by secreting a mild protease and
emerges out. Adults are non-feeding and live only for a short duration.

Adult: The adult silkworms is moth of creamy white colour measuring about 30 mm in length
and a wing span of 40 – 50 mm. The male is smaller than female. The head is small and bears a
pair of black compound eyes and bipectinate antennae. The mouth parts are vestigial, therefore,
the moth does not take food and lives only for 2 – 3 days. The forewings are provided with dirty
dark colored stripes and the body is covered with hairs.

Eggs: Eggs are laid in the night in clusters. A female lays about 300 – 400 eggs popularly called
as silk seeds. The eggs are small, pale white and seed like in appearance. At the time of hatching,
they become black.

Larva: The caterpillar on hatching is while to dark in colour and about 3mm in length. There are
3 pairs of thorasic legs and 5 pairs of abdominial legs on 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10 th abdominal segments
and a horny appendage (Dorsal spine) on the dorsal surface of 8 th abdominal segment. Full
grown caterpillar is creamy while in colour and about 7.5 cm long.

Pupa: The cocoon is 3.8 cm in length, 1.9 cm in breadth, oval in shape and white or yellow in
colour. It spins about 15 cm thread in an hour. The pupa inside cocoon is reddish – brown in
colour. The weight in grams of 900 m long silk thread is called “Denier” and the size of a normal
cocoon is 1.8 – 3.0 deniers. A single cocoon weighs 1.8 – 2.0 g. About 2500 cocoons yield 0.45
Kg. silk.

Sexual dimorphism in silk worm Adult: (Sexual dimorphism in adults:)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Character Female Male
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Color Paler Darker
2. Activity Less active More active
3. Antennae Small Large
4. Body size Large Small
5. Abdomen Large, Flat with 7 seg Long, narrow with 8
seg.
6. External genitalia. The caudal end has a median The caudal end has a pair
 Knob-like projections with hairs of hooks “Harpens”
It can protrude to expel the pheromone helping in copulation

Classification of mulberry silk worms:

1. Classification based on voltinism : Voltinism refers to the number of broods raised per year.
It is a genetically determined character which exerts its effect through hormones. Based on
voltinism, three kinds of races viz , Univoltines, bivoltines and multivoltines are recognized in
mulberry silkworm
2. Classification based on No. of larval moults : Number of molts during the life cycle is a
hereditary character determined by Mendelian genes. On the basis of the number of moults
which they undergo during larval life, B. mori is divided into three races – tri moulters, tetra
moulters and penta moulters. Most of the commercially exploited races are tetra-moulters with
five larval instars.
3. Classification based on geographical distribution : Based on their place of origin, B.mori is
classified into Chinese, Japanese, European and Indian races. The races can be distinguished
from one another on the basis of
1. Morphological characters of egg, larva, cocoon and adult.
2. Biological characters like duration of life cycle, diapause, number of larval moults and
resistance to diseases as well as other environmental factors and commercial characters like
length of filament, denier, defective cocoon percentage, reelability etc.
4. Classification based on genetic nature :Based on genetic nature, silkworm races are
classified as pure races and hybrids.

Morphology of mulberry silk worm: Mulberry silk worm is a holometabolous insect and
passes through four morphologically deficient stages in the life cycle – egg, larva, pupa and
adult.

1. Structure of egg: The size, weight, shape and color of the egg as well as the no. of eggs
per laying vary among the different races and also according to the season, larval
nutrition of the mother moth and environmental conditions during laying. In general eggs
of European races are larger. Eggs laid early during oviposition are larger. An average
Indian cross-breed multivoltine race lays about 400 eggs per laying whose size is very
small compared to the other races. The weight of a single egg is about 0.55 – 0.60 mg so
that, there are about 2,000 eggs per gram. The eggs laid first are heavier than those laid
later by the same moth.
White cocoon races lay paler eggs compared to yellow cocoon races. In
diapausing races, the colour of the eggs changes to deep brown when they enter into
diapause. In non-diapausing races, the colour does not change till development is
complete and then the eggs reaches the blue egg stage (one day prior to hatching).
The eggs are ovoid, spherical or ellipsoid in shape and are flat on one side. This is
called egg dimple. This side is attached to the substructure.
 The protective covering of the egg is called the chorion and it has an opening
called micropyle at the anterior end (Fig). Chorion is composed of two layers, the
exochorion and the endochorion. The main component of the exochrion is chorionin.
Endochorian is the main layer acting as a barrier to water loss and has a wax layer below
it. The two membranes beneath the chorion are the serosa and the vitelline membrane.
The eggs are centrolecithal. The yolk is concentrated in the middle of the egg so
that protoplasm is pushed to the surface as thin layer called periplasm. At the micropyle
end, the periplasm gets collected in a cup like depression of the yolk called polarplasm
and the nuncleus is situated in the centre of the polarplasm.

Structure of larva: (Fig) The larvae are of the euriciform or polypod type with
abdominal prolegs. The newly hatched larva is about 3mm long, black in colour covered
with bristles. It is popularly called Ant. The bristles / setae are situated on four pairs of
tubercles in each segment of the body. As the larva grow, it moults and enters into the
later instars and setae are shed and tubercles becomes less prominent. The color also
becomes pale. The last instar larva is 10 cm long.

The head: It is small hypognathous (mouth is ventral in position) heavily scterotize and
bright brown in colour of the head bears, the sense organs and mouth parts. The
prominent sense organs are the three pairs of ocelli (simple eyes) located on each side
above the antennae. Antennae are 3 – 5 segmented with numerous tactile hairs which
helps in perceiving the odour of the food. The mouth parts include, labrum, mandibles,
maxillae and labium. There is a median process in the distal end of the prementus called
spinnaret through which silk exudes farm silk gland.
Thorax: The protnovax is smaller than the meso – and metathorax. The prothorax has a
pair of respiratory openings, the spiracles on lateral side. The meso and meto thorax
segments project slightly upwards and form the dorsal hump. There is a dorsal eye spot in
the mesothorax. Thorax has 3 pairs of true legs with a claw at the tip. Legs are used for
holding the mulberry leaf while feeding not for walking.
Abdomen: Though only 9 segments are visible, it is formed by 11 segments. The 9,10
and 11th segments are fused to form apparent 9 th segment: Paired prolegs are present in
the 3,4,5,6th and 10th segments. A series of inwardly curved hooks are arranged in the
form of a semi circle on the outer edge of the disc. On the dorsum of 8 th segment is a
prominent projection called caudal horn.

Sex difference in the larva: (Fig) The two sexes can be distinguished from each other by
sex-markings developed in the 4th and 5th instar larva (Fig). The female larva has a pair of
sex marks on the ventral side of the 8 th and 9th abdominal segments called Ishwata’s fore
glands and Ishwata’s hind glands respectively. The fore glands later become modified
to form Bursa copulatrix while hind glands into oviduct and accessory glands.
The male larva has a single median opening at the junction of the 8 th and 9th abdominal
segments called Herold’s gland. It becomes the seminal duct and ejaculatory duct of the
male adult.

Structure of pupa: Pupa can be seen only by cutting open the cocoon. Pupae are soft and
white soon after moult but become hard and brown later. The colour of the pupae cuticle
 particularly its compound eyes and wing pads change colour with the differentiation of
the adult and the age of the cocoon can be made by a gross examination of the colour.
Sex determination in the pupa: The sex markings are more clearly visible than the
larva. The female pupa is larger with a broader abdomen while the male is thinly built
with narrower abdomen. The female pupa has vertical X shaped line in the centre of the
8th abdomen segment ventral side and in males there is a small round spot on the 9 th
abdomen segments (Fig).

Structure of Adult; The adult moths have lost their flight due to several centuries of
domestication. It does not feed during its short life span of 3 -6 days. The size of the
moth is 4x2 cm. The entire body and the wings are covered with epidermal scales.
The head is small and hypognathus with paired compound eyes, a pair of
bipectiuate antennae. The coiled proboscis is non-functional.
The thorax bears a pair of wings, the forewings overlap the hind wings with
scales. Ventrally, each segment bear a pair of legs which are 5 jointed.
The abdomen also covered with scales. Abdomen bears 8 segments in male and only 7
segments in the female.

Silk glands:

The silk thread of the cocoon is secreted by a pair of glands which are actually modified
labial glands. These glands are well differentiated in the 4th and 5th instar. They lie below the
alimentary canal. They are large and they are fully grown. In the final instar it occupies most of
the body cavity ventral to the alimentary canal and accounts for 50 per cent of the body weight.
The silk glands are tubular in nature and the width of the tube varies in different regions of the
glands. The entire gland is formed by 3-layers
1) The outer tunica propria of uniform thickness
2) Middle grandular layer
3) Inner tunica intima
The inner tunica intima is very thick in the anterior region and it is shed at each moult. T. There
are 3 distinct regions in the silk gland differing in the structure and function. They are posterior
region, middle region and anterior region. The posterior most region is highly folded and the
folds lie in the midest of the dermo visceral muscle. They secrete a major proteins of the silk
viz., fibroin. The middle region is the most prominent region and is also widest it is folded into
‘W’ shape structure and the middle region acts as a reservoir of the fibroin secreted by the
posterior region. The fibroin matures in this region during the storage period. The layer of the
sericin secreted by posterior limbs of the middle region is called Sericin- 1 that added around the
sericin-1 by the middle limb with the sericin-2 and that added around the sericin-2 by the
anterior is the sericin-3. The anterior region is of uniform thickness and is very thin and does not
secrete any material and it serves only to conduct the silk fibre assembles in the middle region of
the two sides open at the base of the median projection in the labium called Spinneret which
draws out silk in the form of fine filament. The silk is moulded to a thread as it passes through
silk press which resembles a typical salivary pump. The threads of the two sides are called brims
and the sericin layer bind them together into a single filament or bave.

Lr.no.10.
Grainage: Silk worms eggs (Layings) are called seeds and they are two types – reproductive
seeds and industrial or commercial seeds. Reproductive seeds are those that are used for the
purpose of producing the parents of the seeds used for commercial seeds. The purpose of the
production of reproductive seeds is for maintaining the racial purity; They are produced only in
special breeding centres (breeding stations) by technically qualified personnel. The commercial
seeds on the other hand, are produced in mass in special organizations called grainages to be
supperied to the rearers. These grainages are mostly government-owned or licensed private
rearers and supply disease-free layings (DFL).

Grainages are the places where the disease-free laying (DFLS) of silkworms called industrial
seeds are produced on a mass scale to be supplied to commercial rearers. The industrial seeds
supplied are generally hybrids (cross of two multivoltine or cross of a local multivoltine with
biovoltive or polyhybrid cross of 72 races).

The location of a grainage must be:

1. It must be in cooler areas of the locality for bivoltine rearing.

2. It must be situated in the centre of the sericulturally active area.
3. It must have following facilities – a) rearing house and mulberry garden to rear parental
seed cocoons, b) sex separating and pupa storage room, c) moth emergence and coupling
room, d) egg laying room, e) incubation room, f) cold egg storage room, g) moth
examination room.

Procedures in a Grainage:

1. Rearing of parental seed cocoons: The parental seed cocoons are obtained from the P1
station (breeding station) are reared under optimum conditions specific for the race. The
rearing of parent races to be used for seed preparation should be synchronized by
adjusting the time of brushing. The bivoltine parent egg should be brushed earlier than
the multivoltine parent egg as the former has a longer period inorder in synchronise the
date of moth emergence of both the parents.
2. Seed cocoon preservation: Seed cocoons have to be properly preserved before moth
emergence. Care should be taken regarding the following.
 During transport too much shaking should be avoided as this reduces the % of
eclosion and fertility of the moths.
 Cocoons should be preserved in well aerated and ventilated room and should not
be piled up but spread as single layer on the trays. Avoid strong winds and direct
sun light.
 Examine periodically and remove dead cocoons.
 Maintain 23-250 C temperature and 75-80% R.H. in the storage room.
3. Seperation of sexes: For easy picking of male and female moths, the two sexes are
separated at larval and pupae stages through certain sex-limited characters. Two methods
employed for sexing or separation of sexes are – sex separation in the larva and sex
separation in the pupa. The larvae are separated in the Vth instar based on sex limited
 characters (cuticular markings in Japan). However, this method is unsuitable for many
local races.
By cutting open the cocoons and examining the posterior abdominal segments of the
pupa (see sex determination of pupae), the female and male pupae are isolated. They are
stored in separate trays. In Russia sexes are separated using sex separating machines. The
machine is based on the principle that the female pupae are heavier than the male pupae.
The naked pupae are very delicated and should be carefully stored. The antennae of
pupae become black 2-3 days prior to eclosion and the body hardens and turns black on
the day prior to eclosion.
4. Moth emergence: Moths emerge in response to light in the early hours of the morning
12-14 days after spinning cocoon. The cocoon preservation room should be kept in dark
one day prior to emergence. On the day of emergence, bright lights are switched on early
in the morning (i.e. by 6 AM). Moths emerge from 6-8 AM . Moths of a lot emerge in
about 3-4 days. At about 9 am the emerged moths are collected and the room once again
darkened. The male and female moths are sprayed with different harmless colours for
easy operation
5. Pairing and ovipositon: The male moths are broadcast on a tray of females. The moths
have a tendency to mate immediately after emergence. Mating should not be of less than
2 hours or more than 6 hours duration. After six hours males are separated by holding the
female and twisting the male gently without injuring he external genetalia of the female.
Coupling rooms should be semi-dark , have a temperature of 23-25C and R.H of 75%.
6. Methods of Industrial and Commercial egg production:

a) Cellular bag methods: (France method)

 Coupling pair of moths is introduced into a small bag of perforated paper or

paraffin paper or cloth bag.
 After eggs are laid, the female moths are examined for pebrine infection. The bags
containing eggs of diseased moths are destroyed.
 This method is costly in view of the number of bags involved and more labour
required, but has the advantage of thorough pebrine inspection and moths lay more
eggs than those kept in groups.

b) Cellular card method: (Japanese method) This method is widely used in grainages in
India. A craft paper or a card paper is devided in to 20 cellules or senares in 4 rows each
row having 5 compartments by drawing lines. Funnel plate with 20 similar holes is a
placed on the paper and in each section of the hole a coupling pair of moths are released
 and covered by the moth funnel. After the eggs are laid, the female moths are removed
and examined for pebrine infection. This method is suitable for mass-scale egg
production.

c) Flat card method: This method is used for egg production on a very large scale.
About 40 pairs of coupling moths are allowed to lay eggs on the rough side of a flat cad
After egg laying, sampling method is used for mother moth pebrine infections. If a
certain specified % of the sample is found to have pebrine, the entire lot is discarded In
this method, the pebrine inspection is not perfect.

d) Loose egg method : This is similar to the flat card method except that the eggs are
laid on the smooth side of a craft paper or on a starched paper. After mother moth
examination, if the eggs are found disease free, are carried for washing.

Processing of eggs:

 Eggs are soaked in water for 0.5-1.0 hours This loosens the eggs from the paper.
 Soak again for 10 minutes in 0.5% bleaching powder solution to remove the glue
and to act as a surface disinfectant
 Transfer eggs into a salt solution of 1.06-1.2 sp.gra. The unfertilised eggs float on
water are discarded.
 The remaining eggs are washed with 2% formalin for disinfection.
 Then they are washed in water to remove formalin, dried and packed in boxes.

7. Mother moth examination: Purpose is to ensure that eggs supplied are free from trans-
ovarial infection of pebrine spores. It is of 3 types; Individual moth examination, sample
moth examination and mass moth examination. The choice of method depends upon the
qty of seeds produced in that grainage and on the availability of technical person and
equipments.

The moths are crushed in a mortar with a pestle in a little amount of 15 KOH (for fresh
moths) or 2% KOH (old and dried moths). Place a drop of crushed liquid in the middle of
the slide and covered with cover slip and examined under microscope (600 X
magnification). Pebrine spores appear as shiny and oval bodies.

Ex. Japanese sampling method for mother moth examination

No. of moths in the lot No. to be examines

1. < 500 100%

 2. 550 < 650 68.8%

3. 800 - < 650 43.4%

4. 100 - < 800 32.0%

5. 2500 - < 930 18.8%

6. 5000 - < 980 9.9 %

7. > 10,00 - < 1000 9.9%

Chawki rearing:

Incubation

To ensure uniform hatching of the eggs, they are incubated at optimum temperature
of 24-260C and Relative humidity of 70-80%
Black Boxing
Eggs incubated under optimum conditions reach pin head or head pigmentation
stage by 7/8th day i.e. 48 hrs before hatching. A day later i.e 24 hr before hatching eggs
turn bluish / brownish called as blue egg or body pigmentation stage. All eggs are kept in
darkness at pin head stage which is called black boxing of eggs. Darkness arrests the
hatching of the fully developed eggs but facilitates the lagging embryos to develop faster.
Eggs after black boxing can be stimulated to hatch by exposing them to sunlight stimulus.
Brushing
Brushing is the process of separating newly hatched larvae gently and carefully
from empty egg shells or egg sheets and transferring them to the rearing sheets. After
black boxing and exposure to light, good hatching is obtained by 9 A.M. to 10 A.M
which is ideal time for brushing also.
Bird feather or fine camel hair brush are used for brushing
Chawki Rearing
Rearing of young age silk worms upto II moult is called chawki rearing or young
age rearing. Young age worms are more resistant to high temperature and humidity and
grow healthier in such conditions. Young age worms require tender and succulent
mulberry leaves. Of the total leaf requirement, only 6.33% is utilized during chawki, but
400 times increase in body weights, 300 times in body size and 500 times in silk gland
weight are achieved.
Environmental conditions
The ecological factors, chiefly temperature, humidity, light and air have significant
influence on growth larvae and cocoon quality. The standard temperature and humidity
recommended are as follows.

Instar Temperature (oc) %Relative Humidity

I 26 – 28 85
II 26 – 28 85
III 24 – 26 80

During moulting low humidity of 70% RH is preferable. Humidity is maintained by using

paraffin papers as cover for the rearing bed and wet foam pads. Silkworms are fond of dim
light of 15 to 30 lux. It influences distribution of larvae in rearing bed. The worms are
more crowded in dark and distributed in several layers. Photoperiod during early instars
influences the type of eggs produced (hibernating / non-hibernating). A photoperiod of 16
hours light and 8 hours dark is ideal for young age rearing. The composition of air and
its circulation in rearing room are important for silkworm rearing. In rearing room, the
air is polluted by CO2, formaldehyde gas, ammonia (from silkworm excreta) and sulphur
dioxide. The safe limit for silkworm rearing is 1 to 2% CO2, 1% formaldehyde, 0.1%
ammonia and 0.02% sulphur dioxide. The accumulation of the gases during chawki
rearing is much less because of less production, hence aeration is less important.

Mulberry leaf
Mulberry leaves for chawki rearing must be soft and rich in water content, protein,
carbohydrates etc. For chawki rearing, the largest glossy leaf method is adopted to pluck
the correct leaves. The largest glossy leaf is the one, light green and glossy, being the
largest among the first few leaves. From glossy leaf to 5 or 6 leaves below for I instar,
another 4 or 5 leaves for II instar and further down upto all tender leaves for III instar are
used in young age rearing.

Feeding
About 600, 800 and 1000 kgs of leaf are required to rear 100 dfls (40,000 larvae) of
old cross, improved cross and bivoltine hybrid from brushing to spinning, respectively.
Out of this 0.33%, 1% and 5% are utilized in I, II & III instars, respectively. Cut leaf
method is found good during young age. The standard method is to give 4 feeds (6.00
AM, 11.00 AM, 4.00 PM and 10 PM) per day at equal intervals as for as possible. Amount
and size of leaf required in chawki rearing are,

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leaf quantity (kg/100dfls) Leaf size in cm2
Instars Uni/Bivoltine Multivoltine To start Peak eating Preparation for with
age moult
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 I 1-2 1-2 0.5 2.0 1.0
II 5-6 2-3 2.0 4.0 1.5
III 20 – 55 15 – 20 4.0 Full leaf cut into 2.0
4 pieces
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Total 26 – 63 18 – 25
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bed area
To attain full larval growth, good survival and successful cocoon crop,
maintenance of optimum bed area is important. For multivoltine x bivoltine hybrid 360
ft2 and for bivoltine x bivoltine 480 ft2 / 100 dfls are found optimum by the end of V
instar. Rearing bed area has to be increased daily to match the growth of silkworms.
The space requirement for larvae during chawki rearing is given below.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Instar Uni/Bivoltine Multivoltine
Beginning End Beginning End
I 0.2 0.8 0.2 0.5
II 1.0 2.0 0.5 1.5
III 2.0 4.5 1.5 3.0

Bed cleaning

Leftover leaf and litter accumulate in rearing bed leads to increase in humidity and
temperature and multiplication of various pathogens. Hence, regular cleaning of bed is
necessary. Since the young age worms are delicate, cotton / nylon nets are used for bed
cleaning. The cleaning net is applied on the bed, one feed before cleaning, and the feed is
given above the net. The worms crawl through the meshes and come up to feed on the
leaves on the net. At the next feed the net along with the worms above is transferred to
another tray and fresh feed given. The feces and left over feed are collected and put in
manure pit. Cleaning is done once in I instar prior to I moult (on 3rd day), twice during
II instar, first on resumption of fresh feed and the second prior to II moult, and thrice
during III instar, first on resumption of fresh feed, second during the middle and the third
prior to III moult. The mesh size of nets used for I & II instars is 2 mm2 and for III instar
10 mm2.

Handling of silk worm during moult

During moulting the rearing bed should be thin and dry. Silkworms stop eating just
prior to moult. The rearing bed is then thinned out for drying and a layer of lime powder is
sprinkled. Comparatively low humidity (70% RH) is desirable during moulting. Worms in
moult should not be disturbed and there should be good ventilation. During III instar
paraffin paper cover is provided only on the top but not at the base and use of foam
pads is also dispensed. If any irregularity in settling for moult is observed, the late larvae
may be segregated and reared as a second batch.
Different methods of rearing early age silkworms
The two methods used at present for chawki rearing are Paraffin paper rearing
and Box rearing. The most popular method is Box rearing. In the first method paraffin
paper is used as a bottom layer and as a cover for rearing beds to maintain optimum
humidity. Feeding is restricted to 2 or 3 times a day in this method. The top paraffin paper
must be removed at least 30 minutes prior to feeding for adequate aeration of the bed. In
box rearing boxes with lids or without lids of 10-15 cm deep are used. Paraffin paper, wet
foam rubber pad, etc. are used as usual. Boxes with lids are placed in shelves while boxes
without lids are piled one over the other, but in II instar a space of 2-3 cm between boxes
is provided for ventilation. The boxes with lids are not covered during III instar. However,
prior to moult the paraffin paper, wet foam pad and the lids are removed to keep the bed dry.

Cooperative rearing of young silkworms

Young age silkworm rearing requires technical skill and hence cooperative rearing centers
have been organized which are provided with ideal rearing houses, with necessary
equipment and the rearing conducted by technical experts. Because of scientific rearing in
cooperative rearing centers (collective chawki centers) the worms are vigorous and healthy
and ensure successful crop with rearers during late age. In Japan 90% of young age rearing
is done in cooperative rearing centers. Young age worms raised in collective chawki centers
are distributed in III instar in trays as such or rearing beds can be rolled and 5 to 6 such
rolls can be arranged in wooden trays for transportation or collected in nets and 8 to 10 such
bundles are arranged in trays. It is better to transport the worms during cooler hours of the
day either in morning or late in the evening.

Late age Rearing:

The IV and V instar silkworms are late age worms. Late age worms require
slightly lower temperature and humidity. During this period the silkworm body increases in
size by 29 times, in weight by 25 times, and silk gland weight by 200 times. The different
aspects of old age rearing are as follows:
Environmental conditions
The ideal standard rearing temperature and humidity during late age rearing are as
follows:
Instar Temperature (oC) Relative humidity (%)
IV 24-25 75
V 23-24 70
Above 360C, the temperature affects survival and pupation rate. Comparatively
low humidity is preferable during moulting. During late age rearing air get polluted with
CO2, CO, ammonia, sulphur dioxide etc. produced by working men, silkworms, mulberry
leaves, burning of charcoal for warming and fermentation of litter. Hence, rearing rooms
should have good ventilation. It is essential to ventilate the rearing rooms from III instar
by removing paraffin paper cover at least for one hour before each fresh feed. CO2
exceeding 1% in a rearing room is bad for silkworms. Air current of 1.0 m/s during V instar
considerably reduces larval mortality. Silkworms are fond of dim light of 15 to 20 lux and
avoid strong light or darkness. A photoperiod of 16 hours light and 8 hours dark are
desirable during late age rearing also.
Feeding:
Too tender and too mature leaves are not fit for feeding in late age. Morning time
is good to pick mulberry leaves. Care must be taken during leaf harvest to avoid over
mature and yellowing leaves. Clipping off the terminal buds in row system, a week prior to
the shoot harvest is desirable for IV and V instars. Quantitative requirement in late age forms
the bulk (93.67%) of the total larval feed.

The feed requirement for 100 dfls is as follows.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Instar Leaf quantity in kg
Uni/Bivoltine Multivoltine
IV 80 - 90 35 - 50
V 450 - 475 335 - 325
Total 530 - 565 335 - 375
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grand total from I to V instars 550 – 600 350 – 400
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leaf harvest is done by individual leaf plucking or shoots harvest. In leaf plucking,
whole leaf is fed without cutting. In case of shoot harvest it is cut into convenient length to
accommodate in rearing trays. Four feeds/days is the practice in late age rearing which can
be reduced in rainy season or increased in summer, without changing the total quantum of
feed. The feeding time usually is around 5.00 AM, 11.00 AM and 10.00 PM.

Bed spacing
The successes of silkworm crop and cocoon quality also depend on spacing.
Over crowded rearing leads to insufficient consumption of feed, poor growth,
susceptibility to diseases and low cocoon yield of inferior quality. The spacing should
be increased daily in proportion to the growth of silkworms. The rearing bed spacing
recommended for IV and V instars is as follows.
Instar Space in mm2/larva

Uni/Bivoltine Multivoltine

Beginning End Beginning End

IV 5.0 10.0 3.0 9.0
V 10.0 20.0 9.0 18.0

Bed cleaning
During IV and V instars bed cleaning is done every day with nylon or cotton
nets of appropriate mesh size (20 mm or 2 cm X 2 cm). As in chawki rearing the net is
fixed over the rearing tray one feed prior to cleaning and feed is given above the net. Before
next feed the net along with worms and leaves is transferred to another tray. The faeces
 and left over leaf are collected and put into manure pit. Paddy husk or charred husk is
also used for bed cleaning in late age rearing. They are spread in a thin layer over the bed
prior to feeding. The worms crawl through this layer and start feeding on fresh leaves. The
worms and the leaves are removed to a fresh tray and the litter and old leaves are put in a
manure pit.

Methods of rearing late age worms

There are three methods commonly known for late age rearing.
1. Shelf rearing: Rearing of silkworms in rearing trays arranged one over the other in
tiers on rearing stands is called shelf rearing. Each rearing stand can accommodate upto
10 trays. Cleaning is more frequent in this method and the amount of labour required is
greater. But it accommodates more silkworms in a limited area.
2. Floor rearing: Rearing silkworms on fixed rearing seats arranged in two or three
tiers is called floor rearing. The rearing seats measure 5-7 m X 1-1.5 m. The space
between tiers is
0.6 to 0.8m. Bed cleaning is followed as for shelf rearing, but less frequently, twice
during IV instars and thrice during V instar. The floor rearing requires less labour but
maximum space.
3. Shoot rearing: It is similar to floor rearing. Silkworms are reared on big branches in
one or two tiers. The big shoots harvested from field, are fed straight to the worms. The
rearing seats are 1m wide and as long as the rearing house and usually on a single tier, 20 cm
above ground. In two tiers the gap between tiers is 1 m. It can be carried outdoors or
indoors. In this method as shoots are supplied for every feed, the larvae keep moving
upward and get distributed in three dimensions. There is better aeration of rearing beds.
Hence it is possible to have 50% more worms/unit area of rearing seat compared to
shelf or floor rearing. Cleaning is also reduced to minimum i.e. once in IV instar and
once in V instar. To clean the bed, ropes of convenient length are spread parallel to each
other lengthwise on the bed under the branches and after two or three feeds, when all the
worms have crawled onto new branches; the bed held by ropes is rolled into loose bundles by
cutting the ropes every 2 m. After clearing the beds, the rolled up branches and the worms
are transferred back on the rearing beds and spread out again. This method requires far
less labour.

Care during moulting

The fourth moult takes nearly 30 hours under optimum conditions of temperature
(240C) and humidity (60-70%). As usual prior to stopping the feed for moulting, the
rearing bed is spread to a thin layer and a thin layer of lime powder is applied after the
last feed when the worms settle for moult. Feed should not be given and the worms should
not be disturbed during moulting.

CSRZTI, Mysore has developed a dust formulation called, Resham Keeta Oushad'
(RKO) to dust on moulting worms. The liquid formulation developed by CRSZTI,
Berhampore is 'Labex'.

Other chemicals used during rearing:-

A) Rearing bed disinfectant-
 1. VIJETA-for all diseases
2. ASTRA-Multipurpose broad disinfectant effective against all diseases
3. ANKUSH—ECO & user friendly powerful nonhazardous bed disinfectant
4. SERICHLOR-20- power disinfectant for rearing house and appliances.
B) Silk worm growth promoters-
1. SAMRUDHI-silk enhancing juvenile harmone , which increases cocoon size and
weight
2.SERINUTRID-semisinthetic diet for chawki rearing

3. SAMPOORNA-A plant based steroids isolated for hastening the maturation and
synchronized spinning.
Lr.no.11. Mounting and Harvesting of cocoons

Mounting:

- The process of transferring the ripe worms (full grown final instar larvae ready to spin
the cocoon, where as immature worms are called green larvae) to the appliances used
to support the spinning larvae i.e., mountages is called mounting
- Type of mountage and environmental conditions are important
- Semi-solid reddish excreta by ripe worms soon after mounting are called as Red feces.
They contain large amount of uric acid and the colour is due to tryptophan metabolites
- The first spun loose layer or hammock is called Blaze or floss. It is un-reelable and, 2%
and 10% in cocoon weight in bivoltine and multivoltine races, respectively
- The filament is spun in the shape of in outer layers and in the middle and inner
layers
- After the compact shell is formed the larva shrinks and covers itself with Gossamer or
thin layer of silk called Pelade layer
- The physical process of coagulation of two liquid silk Brins into one Bave is called
Dragging. It is done with a load of 0.01g/denier with a spinning rate of 0.4 to 1.5
cm/second

Methods of mounting:
1. Hand picking of ripe worms
2. Simultaneous mounting of mixture of immature and mature and over-ripe worms
3. Net method
4. Small branch spreading method
5. Free mounting by larvae themselves
Population density in mounting:
- For Chandrika 50 worms/0.1 m2
Precautions:
- Only ripe worms should be mounted but not either the green or over-ripe worms
- Temperature around 24oC and humidity 60-70%
- Worms must not be disturbed
- Clean mountages
Cocoonages or mountages:
- Weeds, straw and dry twigs in Russia
- Made of wood, bamboo, card-board, plastic, glass, dry leaves and twigs.
- Proper attention must be given to the manner in which the worms spin their cocoons and
to their requirements for space, air ventilation, temperature and humidity.
- The optimum space to be provided between two adjacent folds of a cocoonage is 0.9 to
1.0 inch at a height in between 4 to 6 inches in the folds.

An ideal mountage should

- Provide convenient space of suitable dimension.
- Should not promote formation of double cocoons, malformed cocoons and flimsy cocoons.
- Have provision for drying of liquid excreta passed by the worms.
- Be suitable for easy mounting and harvesting.
- Be cheap, durable, easy to handle, easily available and occupy less space.
Mountages used in India:
1. Traditional mountages
- Coconut fronds, mango leaves, paddy straw and died weeds.
2. Chandrika
- Bamboo spiral mountage popular in South India and West Bengal
- Bamboo mat size 1.8 m X 1.2 m supported by bamboo reapers on all sides.
- Bamboo tape of 4 to 5 cm width is wound in a spiral supported by V-shaped struts.
- About 1,000 worms can be mounted on this mountage.
3. Screen type mountage
- Evolved by CS & TI, Mysore.
- Made of bamboo or wooden or plastic reapers on which longitudinal strips with
triangular peaks are present.
- The screen can be folded and stored.
- More durable than chandrika.
- Demerits: loses shape due to elasticity there by double, un-uniform, urinated cocoons.
4. Plastic Mountages
- Based on model of chandrika but made of plastic.
- Various models like screen type are also available.
- Maintenance cost is less but initial cost in more
- Recommended to be placed on wooden trays, which are available with chawki
rearing farmers.
- Holes in them are big-hence some trays are required to collect the worms fallen through
the holes.
- Expensive, problem of disease spread, double and un-uniform cocoons.
5. Polymer mountage
- Netlon extruded polymer mesh by name netrika from Ms. Netlon India Ltd.
- Easy for cleaning and staking
- Uniform good quality cocoons
6. Japanese low cost mountage
- Modification of a Japanese model.
- A wooden frame made of four longitudinal wooden rods, attached by cross spokes at
the ends of a central axis.
- Each rod of the frame has a number of pegs at equal distances, which are connected
by long threads of twisted rice straw.
- It is cheap, each farmer can fabricate his own mountage
- Frame and straw can be disinfected separately.
- Quality of the cocoons is good.
7. Bamboo strip mountage
- Bamboo strips (3ft long) measuring 3 cm width and 0.5 cm thickness placed 3 cm apart
from each other and nailed to wooden reapers.
- 10 such strips on a reaper of 3 ft length with a gap of 3 cm between for spinning cocoons.
- Can be stacked one over the other, the bottom one on wooden blocks 1ft above the ground.
 - 2000 bivoltine larvae require 11 such frames costing Rs. 200/-
- Cocoons are made horizontally with minimum damage to pupa.
8. Bottle brush mountage
- Consists of a thick coconut or jute fiber rope into which 6 to 9 inch sticks (mid rib of
coconut leaf) are inserted very closely.
- Silk worms spin their cocoons in between the sticks.
- Very cheap.
9. Plastic bottle brush
- Developed by the Rearing Technology and Innovation Laboratory of the Central
Sericulture Research and Training Institute, Mysore.
- Each piece is having 8 branches of 1.5 cm length with 2 sub-branches of 9 cm length.
- The branches are equally distributed at a distance of 1 cm at base and 4 cm at the ends in
a circular fashion
- Distance between two sub-branches is 3 cm.
- The circle formed by branches and sub branches is 24 cm in diameter.
- 50 such individual pieces can be joined with 2 cm gap by an iron rod with a steel
stopper at the end.
- The surface of the branches and sub-branches is granulated.
10. Rotary mountage
- Not in much use in India.
- Consists of frame with 10-12 boards, each with 12 sections.
- Each section has 13 rows making a total of 156 chambers open at both the ends.
- Ten such frames are assembled on a turning wooden frame.
- They are kept above the rearing beds and rotated at a low speed.
Harvesting of cocoons:
- After hardening of the pupal cuticle i.e., 5
th day after spinning for tropical and 7th
day for temperate races
- Delay results pierced cocoons due to moth emergence
- Early harvest results in spoiled cocoons due to injury
- Harvesting is done normally by hand
HARVESTING OF COCOONS, COCOON CHARACTERS AND DEFECTIVE
COCCONS

 Harvesting of cocoon is done on the 5

th day of spinning.

 In winter, it may be done on 6

th day in case of multivoltines for commercial use.

 Seed cocoons may be harvested on 8 /9

th th day of spinning depending on temperature.

 Harvesting should not be done immediately after pupation, since the soft cuticle of
the pupae may rupture due to bad handling.
Physical and commercial characteristics of cocoons :
In depth study of the physical characters of cocoons will enable a reeler to
(A) Determine the size and quality of raw silk so that he can produce the yarn at
an economic cost.
(B) To choose the right type of reeling machine, proper method of cocoon boiling
and proper size of raw silk thread to be produced at an economic cost, the number of ends
manageable for maximum output per reeler and highest recovery of good silk from the lot.
The cocoon characters may be heritable and are not influenced by rearing or feeding.
a) Colour :
 It is essentially a racial character.
 Indigenous multivoltine in South India is pale yellow to greenish yellow.
 In West Bengal, they are deep yellow to golden yellow.
 The uni and bi voltine exotic races of China, Japan and Europe are generally
greyish white to bright white.
 The colour is only superficial and due to the presence of colouring pigments in
the sericin layer of the bave.
 The colour may show a declining tendency from the outer layer to the inner layer.
b) Shape :
 It is essentially a racial characteristic and partly due to the type of mountage used.
 Each race has its own characteristic shape.
Japanese races - Peanut or bag shape
Chinese races - Elliptical
Indigenous races - Spindle like with pointed ends
c) Size : (cocoon volume) :
 It is influenced by race, rearing and feeding conditions.
 It is determined by the number of cocoons per liter and varies among the races.
Bivoltine-70-100/lt
 In 500 g of raw cocoons the number will be in the range of 230 and 350.
Multi voltine-120-200/lt
 The number of cocoons per 500 g may range between 350 and 500.
d) Granules or wrinkles :

 Granular formation can be clearly seen on the surface of cocoons in uni and
bivoltine cocoons.
 The size and formation of grains are dependent on the races.
 The degree of fineness and hardness of the granular formulation varies with the type
of race viz., Japanese, Chinese or European.
 The grains progressively show a decrease in size and intensity from outer layer to
the middle and inner layer.
 Cocoons undergo size variations both in intensity and size, when dried. They shrink
and also thicken.
 Coarser and larger the grain, the unwinding of filament is observed to be smoother
and quicker.
Cocoons are classified into 4 grades on the basis of granular formation.
1. Cocoons with highest roughness and coarsest grains.
2. Cocoons with high degree of hardness/coarseness.
3. Cocoons of ordinary/common granulations.
4. Crowned small size grained cocoons.
e) Compactness/hardness :
 It gives an idea of silk content of cocoon.
 A good quality cocoon feels firm, compact, slightly elastic and resilient
(quickly recovering original shape).
f) Cocoon weight :
 It is influenced by both race and conditions of rearing and feeding.
 Weight of Indian crossbreed multivoltine cocoon is 1.1 to 1.4 grams.
 Bivoltine commercial hybrid is 1.6 to 1.8 grams.
g) Weight of cocoon shell :
 The shell weight is of commercial importance as it is the source of raw silk yarn.
 It varies in different races. However, within the race, the variations arise on
account of rearing and spinning conditions.
Japanese bivoltine - 320-400 mg (pure breeds)
360-500 mg (hybrids)
Indigenous multivoltine 100-140
mg multivoltine 160-300

h). Shell ratio (SR):

Raw silk percentage of a cocoon is represented by the ratio
SR=Shell Wt/ Cocoo Wt ×100

Japanese bivoltine 15 - 25%

Indian pure multivoltine 10 - 12%
Improved newly evolved hybrid multivoltine 13 - 17%
Commercial bivoltine 18 - 23%

i) Length of silk bave :It indicates the quantity of silk to be unwound in reeling, the rate
at which it can be unwound and the manner of boiling to be done to ensure maximum
recovery of the filament.
 The mono cocoon reeling machine with an adjustable speed mechanism enables
the reeler to determine the length of filament available in a cocoon.
Average total length of filament in a single cocoon
in Indian multivoltine pure race 300-400m
 Indian multivoltine hybrids 400-650m
Indian multivoltine cross breeds 800-1200m
Indian bivoltine cocoons 1000-1600 m

j) Non breakable filament length (NBFL) :

 The longer the non breakable filament length, the better is the quality.
 It is dependent on the races used. The uni and bivoltine races with higher silk
content register a higher length contributing to the less number of
casts/replacements in the course of reeling a specified size of raw silk.
NBFL = Average filament in the lot under test x Reelability ratio
For eg :
Average Filament length assessed = 1344 m

The Reelability % number of cocoons used = 273

Number of casts made = 320 i.e., 83.2%

NBFL = 1344 x 83.2

k) Reelability :
 It is the index of the quality of cocoons used in reeling.
 The unwinding of the filaments from the cocoons should be smooth without
frequent stoppages of the reel or breakages of the unwind filaments in the course of
reeling.
 If frequent casts/additions of filaments arise, the output of raw silk and the rate of
production is affected, rendering the cost of production high.
The reelability is expressed as percentage on the basis of number of cocoons used for
reeling divided by the number of casts made while reeling

number of cocoons used for reeling Reelability

Reelability% = -----------------------------------------------
Number of casts made

L).Size of
  This is expressed in terms of denier. Denier (derived from the smaller French
coin) represents the weight of 9000 meters of silk thread in gram.
 Filament denier decreases from outside of the cocoon to the inside.
 Value of denier varies from 1.7 to 2.8 g
Wt of filament (g)

Denier = ----------------------------- x 9000

Length of filament (m)

m) Flo
 It is the entangled loose filament around cocoon shell and is un-reelable.
Multivoltine – 8 - 12%
Bivoltine – 2 - 5%

n) Renditta :
 The number of kilograms of cocoons required to obtain one kg of reeled silk is
called Renditta.
Multivoltine – 8 - 14%
Bivoltine – 6 - 8%

o) Raw silk percentage :

 It is the percentage of raw silk that can be obtained per unit of

cocoons Bivoltine – 80 - 85%

Newly evolved multivoltine –55– 60%
Multivoltine pure races 40– 45%

Defective cocoons
I. Defects due to heritable racial characters :
a) Thin middle cocoons :
 The entire shell is thin and constricted in the middle.
 The cocoons have poor silk content and hence have poor reelability.
b) Thin ends of weak points :
 The cocoons are loosely spun at one end or at both the ends.
 It is most common in females than in males and in cocoons spun vertically in
the mountages.
 Due to thin ends, cocoons become water logged and are un-reelable.
II. Defects due to mistakes in rearing and mounting :
a) Double cocoons : When too many worms are mounted on the same mountage, due to
lack of space, two worms lying nearly, while spinning their silk become entangled
and they spin a single cocoon. They are un-reelable. Hence, used for spinning.
b) Immature cocoons : When an un ripe worm is mounted, it wanders about for
sometime in search of food and settles to spin when food is not available. It spins
small sized cocoons with lesser silk.
c) Unsized cocoons : When worms are not fed with adequate quantity of leaves, the
growth of worms become nonuniform. They reach spinning stage at different times
and spin cocoons of different sizes.
d) Malformed cocoons : These include cocoons of abnormal shape with impressions
of mountage etc. These are formed either due to defects in the mountage or violent
fluctuations in environment during spinning.
e) Black stained/inside spoiled/mute cocoons : These are cocoons which contain a
dead pupa, putrefying fluid of which oozes out and spoils the cocoons. This may be
due to disease, early harvesting or crude handling of cocoons.
f) Rust or outside soiled cocoons : These cocoons have black patches on the outer
shell formed due to the excreta of other worms falling on them.
g) Spotted cocoons : These are normally healthy cocoons which are stained due to
various reasons.
h) Loose knot/Fragile/Thin shaped cocoons (Straw bags) : These are loosely
woven with spaces between the layers of cocoon shell.
i) Double layered cocoons : When spinning worms are subjected to sudden changes
in environment, they spin cocoons with 2 or 3 layers of shell. This defect can be seen
only during reeling.
III. Defects due to parasite infestation :
Perforated cocoons : When spinning larvae are infested with maggots of Uzi fly,
maggots pierce the through body of the host and cocoons and pupate in crevices of the
room or in the soil. They have broken threads and are un-reelable.
STIFFLING : It is the process of killing the pupae inside the cocoon by reducing the
high moisture level of cocoon shell and body of pupa to a safe moisture level to prevent the
emergence of moth .The safe level of moisture should be low enough to reduce fungi
and microbial growth which cause decomposition and effect the quality and appearance of
silk fiber.
Lr.no. 12. Uses of Silk and Its by Products

Uses of silk: The silk obtained from silkworms, is a natural fibre used in textiles. It is soft,
smooth and lustrous and holds a prestigious place among textile fibres to the extent to be called
the ‘queen of textiles”. Different use of silk are:

1. Silk may be sold and exported as raw silk yarn itself.

2. Silk may be wooven into fabrics by powerloom or handloom and sold directly as fabrics
or as readymade garments.
3. Articles made from silk, like ties, scarves, soles, shawls, furnishings and carpets have
always had a ready market and knitted materials are also valued highly.
4. From trimoulters, a special silk yarn is prepared which is used as package material in
pencil industry and for making talcum powder puffs.
5. Using silk as raw material, sound free gears are prepared for exclusive use in making
precision machinery.
6. In France, 22-24 denier silk is used in tyre manufacture which has a longer life span
than the ordinary rubber tyres.
7. Parachute is made from 13-15 denier silk fibre and it was this use during the world war
II that helped in the tremendous progress of sericulture throughout the world.
8. Cosy and Soft sky jackets, comforters and sleeping bags are also made from silk.
9. The silk gut is used in surgery for internal sutering is made from silk glands. The silk
gands are dissected out and put in warm water and pulled at the two ends to yield a fibre
of uniform thickness. As it is a protein, it is auto – absorbable and need not removed after
wound healing.
10. Silk grafts have also been used successfully to replace cut arteries.
11. Silk worms are extensively used in physiology researches.

By-products of sericulture: Sericulture involves three different activities: moriculture, rearing

of silkworms, reeling of cocoons. In each of these activities, a number of by-products, popularly
called Waster are generated. As all these by-products can be put to good use, it is claimed that
in sericulture nothing is a waste.

1. By-products of moriculture:
 If, for some reason (non availability of seed or labour, disease prevalence or
unfavourablee climate), silk worm rearing is not carried out, leaves can be
harvested, shade dried and can be used for incorporation into the semi-synthetic
artificial diet for the silk worm.
  Leaves can also be used for their special medicinal value.
 Excess of pruned leaves can be used as cattle feed, manure or mulches for
mulberry garden or as fuel.
 The longer bits are also used as props.
 The rejected plants can be conveniently dived as raw material for paper pulp
industry or used in furniture making or used as fuel.
2. By-products of silk worm rearing:
 Excess of harvested leaves (10-20% of harvest), unfed leaves (20-30% of leaves
furnished at each feed), larval litter (60% of ingested food) and exuviae of the
moulted larvae are the major wastes and rejected or worms rejected (diseased,
weak) and dead larvae.
 All these wastes can be used as compost and added to soil. The well decomposed
compost made from mixed sericulture farm wastes contains 30% moisture, 1.6%
N, 0.7% P, 0.3% K, in addition to various micronutrients.
 Rejects and dead larvae, cast larval skin can be used as poultry feed.
 Mature silk glands from dead worms can be ued as the source of guts which are
used for surgical suturing. This can be done by treating the glands with acetic
acid and then drawing them into fine filment.
 Silk worm litter can be effectively used as raw material in the biogas plant along
with cow dung to produce fuel.
 Pharmaceutical and perfumery compounds are produced from silk worm litter in
China. It is used as raw material for synthetizing many new products, of which
chlorophyll is worth mentioning which has got demand internationally for
pharmaceutical and food processing industries. Medicine developed from
chlorophyll extracted from silkworm excrement is used as medicine for hepatitis
and leukemia.
3. By-products of Grainage operations: Pierced cocoons, unused moths and dead moths
are the Waste products.
 Perforated or pierced cocoons form the raw material for hand spinning industry to
form silks like ghicha and Katia and also used for producing spun silk in mills.
 Unused mouths, dead maths and discarded eggs are dumped in pits and allowed to
form compost.
 Silk moths are used to brew medicinal wines in accordance with Chinese ancient
prescriptions and used to treat impotence, abnormal menstruation and menopausal
symptoms.
4. By-products of reeling: By products of reeling industry include – defective cocoons,
pupal waste and reeling wastes.
 Defective cocoons like flimsy cocoons, urinated cocoons, melted cocoons, double
cocoons, flossy cocoons can be reeled in charkha units, spun silk mills or hand
spinning. Double cocoons are used for the production of Dupion silk.
 Pupal waste can be used as compost, as human food as it is a rich source of
proteins, as animal feed (as fish bait) and cattle feed.
 Oil is extracted from pupae (25% of dry wt.) and used for burning lamps and for
preparing homemade soap.
 Defatted protein can be used for making artificial fibres and membranes. The
protein is also used as animal feed and manufacture of amino acids.
Lr.no.13. Silk worm diseases
PESTS AND DISEASES OF SILKWORM

The pests of mulberry silkworm are a) Insects, b) Mites and c) Vertebrates.

 Insect pests of mulberry silk worm are parasitoids and predators. Of the insect
parasitoids, seven species belonging to Tachnidae: Diptera are important.
Compsilura concinnata
Exorista larvarum
Gaedia ignavus
Gaedia puelle
Neopalas pavida
Thrycholyga sorbillans
Crossocosinia (ugimyia) sericariae
 Of the predators, ants, beetles (Dermestids), bugs, cockroaches, earwigs, wasps, the mites
(Pyemotids) and the vertebrates’ viz., Lizards, Rodents, Birds, Cats and Dogs are
common.
 Based on geographic distribution and hosts, four kinds of Uzi flies are known to infest
and kill silkworms.
a) Japanese uzi fly , Crossocoamia sericariae

b) Hime uzi fly, Ctenophorocera pavida

c) Indian uzi fly, Exorista bombycis

d) Tasar uzi fly, Blepharipa zobina

Indian uzi fly: Exorista bombycis

 Indian uzi fly was found parasitizing mulberry silk worm in Karnataka during May,
1980. It has been causing 40-75% loss of cocoon crop. The Indian uzi fly is known to
infest 44 species of Lepidopteran caterpillars belonging to 36 genera including silk
worms.
Biology:
 The uzi fly complete 2 generations within the host larval period. It prefers III, IV and
early V instar larvae for oviposition. It does not lay eggs on silk worms settled for moult
and spinning worms (ripened) on mountages.
 The fly lays 300-1000 creamy white eggs singly mostly on ventral surface of inter
segmental regions. The eggs hatch in 2-3 days and the maggots bore into the body of
the silkworm. The maggots have 3 instars and the maggot period is 5-8 days and the
mature maggot pierces the integument and pupates outside on the floor in 10-20
days. The pupal period lasts 10-12 days.
Symptoms:
 Black spots can be observed on the inter segmental surface of larvae from where the
maggots enter into the body of the silk worm. White creamy oval shaped eggs can
also be observed on the skin of infested larva.
Control measures:
a) Use of Nylon net (40-70 mesh) to prevent entry of uzi fly into rearing house.
b) Application of uzicide as mentioned below

Bed area No. of trays Quantity of uzicide

Age of silkworm (lit/100 DFL’S)
( sq.ft.) (3.5’ dia)
nd
III instar 2 day 90 10 0.7
IV instar 2nd day 100 20 1.4
V instar 2nd day 270 30 2.1
4th day 360 40 2.8

c) Dusting with levigated china clay with a muslin cloth @ 3g/100 larvae before
mounting and 4 grams /sq. ft on bamboo mountages to prevent uzi fly attack during
spinning.

d) Collection and destruction of uzi fly affected silkworm larvae and cocoons.

e) Destruction of uzi fly maggots and pupae collected from rearing trays, mountages,
cracks and crevices in the floor of rearing house.

f) Application of Diflubenzuron (Dimilin 25 WP) with levigated China clay as

diluent (1:9) on third instar maggots.

 PREADATORS
Dermestid beetles:
 Dermestes cadverinus
 D.valpinus
 Anhrenus sp
 Attagenus sp.
 Trogoderma versicolor
Dermestidae: Coleoptera

 The stored cocoons after stiffling are mostly infested by the grubs of dermestid
beetles.
 They make hole and feed on the pupae inside.
Control:
 Cleaning of rearing house and cocoon store room.
 Do not store rejected cocoons and perished eggs for long time.
 Fumigate the dried cocoon storage rooms with Methyl bromide @ 0.5 kg/283 m2
for a day or with Chloropicrin @ 0.5 kg/283m2 for 3 days.

114
Mites, Pediculoides ventricosus :

 The female mites attack silkworm larvae, pupae and adults causing death.
 The body surface of silkworms struck with mites develops black specks.
 The infested ones loose appetite, become inactive and have difficulty in excreting
and the excreta is attached bead like to the anus.
 If severely infested, the worms vomit yellowish green fluid.
 The mite takes nutrition from silk worm and gives out a toxic substance which kills
the silkworm.
Control:
 Avoid the storage of wheat/rice straw near rearing house,
 Treat the building and thatched materials with acaricide or fumigant before use.

Ants :
 They attack silkworms in rearing trays.
 They can be prevented by placing ant wells with water below the rearing shelves.

Nematodes: Hexamermis microamphidis

 It is mostly found in silkworms of late autumn rearing.

 The nematode attacks the young stage larvae and penetrates into their bodies.
 The head of affected silkworm becomes transparent and the body milky white.

Diseases of mulberry Silkworm:

The silkworm Bombyx mori is prone to the attack of a number of diseases. Among the
diseases, Pebrine, Grasserie, Flacherie and Muscardine are important.

1. Pebrine:

 It is caused by a protozoan parasite, Nosema bombycis.

 It belongs to

Phylum : Protozoa
Class : Sporozoa
Sub class : Coidosporidia
Order : Microsporidia
Family : Nosamatidae

 Pebrine disease is also known as Pepper disease or Corpuscle disease.

 De Quatrifuges (1860) gave the popular name Pebrine to this disease because of the
characteristic infection and appearance of dark pepper like spots on the body of the
infected silkworm larvae.
 Pasteur (1885) observed that the disease is transmitted through the egg in three ways
i.e.,

1. By contact with the diseased silkworms.

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 2. By ingestion of contaminated food.

3. By Transovarial transmission

 The life cycle of N. bombycis is completed in 7 days after infection in a cold

climate and in about 4 days in hot weather.
Symptoms of infection:
Egg stage:
a) Few number of eggs on egg cards
b) Overlapping of eggs one over the other, instead of closely side by side
c) Easy to detach eggs from egg card due to lack of adhesiveness. Eggs to egg card.
d) Poor/less egg hatching.
Larval Stage:
a) No external symptoms in early stages of disease
b) With advance in disease, larvae become sluggish and dull.
c) Poor apatite, retarded growth resulting in irregular moulting.
d) Presence of larvae in unequal size in the rearing bed.
e) Appearance of irregular dark brown spots or black spots on the body of larvae.
f) Hanging down of the head, instead of holding up.
g) Infected larvae may die before spinning or it may spin only a poor and flimsy cocoon.
h) Affected larvae lack luster and in later instars turn rusty brown.
Pupal stage:
a) The abdominal area is soft, swollen and dark in colour.
b) Black spots present on sides of the abdomen.
c) Pupa looses its luster and become dull in its movements.
Adult Stage:
a) Discolouration of scales on abdominal area
b) Black spots may be seen on abdomen
c) Deformed wings
d) Distorted antennae
e) Low fecundity
Prevention and control:
a) Production and supply of disease free layings through mother moth examination.
b) Surface sterilization of disease free layings by dipping the egg cards in 2%
formalin for few minutes and then washing in running water.
c) Maintenance of strict sanitation, hygienic rearing.
d) Destruction of diseased material.
e) Disinfection of rearing rooms and appliances.

 Mother moth examination for identifying and destroying the pathogen is an essential
programme in a grainage.

There are 3 methods of moth examination

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 a) Individual moth examination

b) Sample testing

c) Mass examination of moths

Individual moth examination:

 It is ideal to check disease, but laborious. In this case, the individual moth is crushed
in a moth crushing set. It consists of 10-20 cavities (mortar) and pestle. A drop of
KOH solution is added to the crushed fluid. A drop of crushed fluid is taken on a glass
slide and cover slip is placed over the drop of the fluid and a smear is prepared. This
is observed under a microscope with 600 magnification (i.e., eye piece 15 x objective
40). The Pebrine spores are visible as shining oval bodies.
 Even if one moth out of 10-15 thousand moths of a batch of cocoons show pebrine the
entire lot is rejected.
 A moth examiner can examine about 200 smears in a day of 8 hours. This method
cannot be practiced in commercial grainages due to shortage of time between egg
laying and disposal. This can be followed in Jammu and Kashmir etc where
bivoltine hibernated eggs are produced.
Sample testing:
 In this method, about 20% of emerged moths picked at random are examined. Four
moths picked at random from an egg sheet of 20, which forms 20% are examined for
pebrine. This is generally followed in India.
Mass examination of moths:
 This is a quick and dependable method of moth examination for pebrine disease
and can be practiced in commercial grainages.
 In this case, the samples of moths are drawn considering the number of moths to be
examined after 24 hours of egg laying / oviposition.
 Each sample consisting of 30 moths are kept in perforated paper covers after
marking the date, lot number, sample number etc.
 They are stored in hot air oven and dried at 700C ±50 c for 6 hrs. After 6 hrs of
drying, the temperature in the oven is maintained at 30 0C to avoid accumulation of
humidity and putrification. These batches are examined next day.
 Thirty dried moths are kept into each mixer cup and 90 cc of 0.5% potassium
carbonate solution is added. The material is ground for 2 min at 10,000 rpm. This
helps in macerating moth tissues. The fluid is allowed to settle for 2 minutes and
filtered by using an absorbent cotton filter. This helps in removing scales and other
materials. This fluid is taken into a centrifuge tube and centrifuged at 3,000 rpm for 3
min. Then the supernatant is rejected. A few drops of 2% KOH is added to the
sediment which is a thick paste. It is properly mixed by keeping the tube over a
cyclomixer for about a minute. A drop of solution is taken on a micro slide and smear
is prepared by putting a micro cover slip and examined under microscope. At least 2
smears are examined from each cup and each smear is examined at least in 5 fields.
 This method of examination can be practiced for both live and dry moth examination.
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  Dry moth examination is more effective in pebrine detection than live moth
examination.

Viral diseases:

Silkworm viruses are two types

a) Occluded (Inclusion type):
 Nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV) – Baculoviridae
 Cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus (CPV) - Reoviridae
b) Non occluded (Non inclusion type):
 Inflections flacherie (IFV) – Unclassified small RNA viruses
 Densonucleosis (DNV) – Parvoviridae
 Kenchu virus
Occluded/Inclusion body viruses:
The virions /viral particles are embedded by a thick protein coat, thereby they have more
viability.
Nuclear polyhedrosis virus:
 Grasserie, Jaundice, Hanging disease Caused by borrelina virus
 Polyhedrons are hexagonal or octagonal Measure 0.5 to 8.0 µ in size Virion measures
400 x 80 nm
 The polyhedra engulfed along with food will get dissolved in midgut and virions
infect the midgut cells. Later, they enter haemocoel and invade fat bodies, silk glands,
trachea, haemocytes and the polyhedral formation occurs inside the nucleus of the
target cells
 Fourth and fifth instar larvae are more susceptible
Symptoms:

 No external symptoms in early stage of disease

 Larvae become sluggish and lose appetite
 Swelling of inter segmental region
 Shining yellowish, fragile skin without elasticity larvae become restless
 Crawling out of larvae from rearing tray and falling down, thus resulting in rupturing
of fragile skin, there by releasing turbid dirty whitish haemolymph containing
numerous polyhedral
 The diseased larvae lose the holding power of legs except the last pair with which
they hang head downwards.
Predisposing factors:

 High temperature, high humidity and their fluctuation in rearing room.

 Excess moisture in leaf and rearing bed
 Insufficient ventilation
 Overcrowding during rearing
 Inferior quality mulberry leaves
 Feeding mature leaf followed by tender leaf
 Feeding leaf with accumulated dew drops and rain drops.

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Prevention and control:

 Strictly avoiding the predisposing factors

 Surface sterilization of eggs with 2% formalin
 Use of bed disinfectants like dusting reshamkeetoushad @ 2-2.5 g/sq. ft during
chawki rearing and @ 3.5-4.5 g/sq. ft during late age rearing once after each moult.
Cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus (CPV):
 Bilisappe, Sappe Caused by Smithia virus
 Polyhedra of this virus are tetragonal or hexagonal and measure 3-10 µ in size.
Virions are spherical and measure 60 nm in diameter
 Virus invades the posterior part of midgut epithelium. The cylindrical/columnar cells
are infected.
 Polyhedra are formed in the cytoplasm showing characteristic chalky white
appearance of the whole midgut.
 Due to increased pressure, the cell walls break and numerous polyhedra are
released in to the lumen of midgut which pass through excreta and further
contaminate the mulberry leaves in bed.
Symptoms:
 Early instar larvae more susceptible, Loss of appetite.
 Retarded growth and development followed by vomiting gastric juice and diarrhoea.
Prevention and control:
 Thorough disinfection of rearing room and equipment
 Rearing under hygienic conditions and feeding good quality mulberry leaves

Densonucleosis virus (DV):

 Caused by a parvo virus measuring 20 nm in diameter.
 It invades the nucleus of the cylindrical cells of midgut epithelium.
 Late age worms more susceptible.
Symptoms:
 Infected nucleus gets swollen considerably.
 Gattine : Caused by a non inclusion type virus (Sub microscopic and a bacterium,
Streptococcus bombycis).
 Also called as Luzette or Clarette.
 Popular names are Salpa (W.Bengal) and Hasirumoto (Karnataka).
 Virus affects the epithelial cells of midgut followed by bacterial infection.
Predisposing factors :
 Fecal matter containing virus excreted by infected larvae cause contamination.

Symptoms:
 Infected larvae show translucent Cephalothorax.
(Since the gut is devoid of mulberry leaf)
 Diarrhoea
 Vomit alkaline liquid

Prevention and Control:

 Rearing under hygienic conditions

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  Proper disinfection

Infectious Flacherie :

 Caused by mortar virus

 It is spherical and measures 27± 2 nm in diameter.
 It invades the goblet cells of anterior midgut epithelium and multiplies in cytoplasm
Symptoms :

 Stunted larval growth

 Translucent Cephalothorax and shrinkage of body
 Flaccidity of the body
 Frequent evacuation of semisolid and whitish fecal matter
 Soiling of anal region
 Excreta in the form of chain with beads
 Rectal protrusion
 Whitish midgut

Predisposing factors :

 Mulberry leaves with poor nutrition

 Feeding with yellowish/soiled leaves or leaves grown in shade/contaminated with
pesticides
 High temperature and humidity of rearing room
 Improper ventilation and accumulation of poisonous gases

Prevention and control :

 Avoid predisposing factors

 Disinfection of beds with RKO
 Disinfection of rearing room and appliances with 2-4 per cent formalin
 Destruction of infected larvae, fecal matter and bed refuse by burning

Bacterial diseases:
These are referred to as Flacherie
It is of three types
a) Bacterial diseases of digestive organs – Caused by
 Streptococci
 Coli aerogenous bacilli
 Proteus group bacilli
b) Bacterial toxicosis:
 Also called as Sotto disease
 Caused by Bacillus thuringiensis, whose spores produce toxic substances and affect
nervous system leading to spasm and paralysis.
C) Septicemia – Caused by Streptococci and Staphylocci
Predisposing factors:
 Diseased silkworms

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  Fecal matter
 Contaminated mulberry leaves
 Rearing appliances
 Wide fluctuation in temperature and humidity

Symptoms:
 Larvae become sluggish
 Poor appetite
 Retarded growth
 Body shrinkage
 Vomiting of gut juices
 Excretion in the form of beads/chains
 Body of dead larva turns black and emit a foul smell

Prevention and control:

 Maintenance of hygienic condition in rearing room
 Avoid the predisposing factors
 Avoid fluctuation of temperature and humidity

Fungal diseases:
 White muscardine – Beauviria bassiana
 Also known as Calcino. Infection occurs through skin
 Life cycle: 4-10 days.

Symptoms:
 Presence of oily specks on body
 Infected larvae lose appetite and become sluggish
 After death, larvae become mummified and gets hardened
 Body covered with white powdery conidia
Predisposing factors:

 Diseased worms, fecal matter.

Prevention and Control :

 Disinfection of room/equipment with 2% formalin / 5% bleaching powder

 Reduce humidity in bed with lime powder

 Application of formalin chaff @ 0.4, against I and II instars and 0.5, 0.6 and 0.8%,
against III, IV and V instars, respectively.

Other muscardine diseases :

 Green Muscadine : Metarrhizium anisopliae

 Yellow Muscardine : Paeciliomyces farinosus
 Brown Muscardine : Aspergillus falvus.

Disinfection and hygiene:

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o The rearing house as well as the appliances used in rearing should be disinfected with
2% formalin prior to commencement of every rearing.
o For effective disinfection, the rearing house should be made air tight as far as
possible and with the rearing appliances kept inside, the walls, windows, doors and
the appliances should be sprayed with 2% formalin @ 7-8 lt for 100 sq mt and the
doors closed immediately.
o After 24 hours of disinfection the doors and windows should be opened and the
rearing house should be completely aerated at least 24 hours before the
commencement of brushing.

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Lr.no.14-Lac Culture-----

Lac insects are exploited for their products of commerce i.e.,

 Resin
 Dye
 Wax.
 Lac cultivation provides- Livelihood to millions of Lac Growers & Conserves vast
stretches of forests and biodiversity associated with lac insect complex
 Lac Complex comprises of 87 species under 9 genera.
 In India, 19 species belonging to two genera i.e., Kerria and Paratachardina are
found.
 Lac insects thrive on 400 plant species. 22 species of lac predators, 30 species of
primary parasites, 45 species of secondary parasites, several fungal pathogens
represent the rich biodiversity of this system.
 India is the largest producer of lac (i.e., a resinous compound secreted by lac insect
while feeding on phloem sap of certain plants called Lac hosts) in the world,
accounting for about 50-60% of total world lac production.
 the estimated national production of sticklac during 2015-16 was approximately
18,746 tons comprising rangeeni (7,597 tons) and kusmi (11,149 tons) sticklac.
 Among the lac growing states, Jharkhand state ranks 1st followed by Chhattisgarh,
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha. These five states contribute around 93%
of the national lac production.
 Contribution of Jharkhand in national lac production is about 53% followed by
Chhattisgarh (17%), Madhya Pradesh (12%), Maharashtra (8%) and Odisha (3%).
 Among the different cropping season crops, jethwi crop was ranked 1st with the
contribution of 32% followed by aghani (27%), baisakhi (24%) and katki (17%) in
total lac production.
 Over 3 million tribals are dependent on lac. About 20-38% of agricultural income of
Jharkhand tribal’s is from lac.
 Nearly one million man days /annum are generated by industries engaged in post
harvest processing of lac.

 Lac resin – Natural, Biodegradable, Non toxic, Used in Food, textile,

pharmaceutical industries, in addition to surface coating, electrical and other fields.
 Species belonging to Paratachardina produce a hard, horny substance which is
insoluble in alcohol. These are univoltine and are generally treated as parasites of
economically important plants like tea and sandal and are biocontrol agents on weeds.
 Species belonging to Kerria are Bivoltine except K. lacca mysorensis on Jalari
(Shorea talura), K. sharada on Kusum (Schleichera oleosa) and Rain tree (Albizia
saman) are trivoltine.
 Indian lac insect i.e., Kerria lacca (Laccifer lacca) Kerr is the most important and
widely exploited insect.

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  It belongs to
Order: Hemiptera,
Super family: Coccoidae,
Family: Tachordiidae (Lacciferidae).

 It is distinguished into two strains or sub species forms i.e., Rangeeni and Kusumi
on the basis of differences in life cycle, host preference and quality of lac produced.
 Rangeeni Strain is characterized by unequal duration of bivoltine life cycle and
non preference of kusum as a host.
 Kusumi Strain is characterized by more or less equi-durational life cycle and
preferring kusum as a host. Quality of resin produced by kusumi is superior to the
resin produced by rangeeni.

Biology and Behaviour:

o The female lays eggs inside the encrustation.
o They hatch almost immediately and the nymphs crawl out of the cell.
o A single female may produce 300-1000 nymphs, of which a one- third would be
males.
o Nymphs are minute, about 0.6 mm long, soft bodied, pointed posteriorly, deep red in
colour with black eyes.
o They wander on the shoots, move mostly upward towards tender branches and settle
on them. They start feeding by piercing the shoot. The nymphs settle on the shoot and
do not move about. They secrete resin over their body after one/two days of settling.
The resin glands are situated all over the cuticle except near mouth parts, anus and
breathing pores.
o The resinous covering increases with the growth of insect.
o The nymphs moult thrice and become the adults. After first moult, both male and
female nymphs lose their eyes, antennae and legs. The males regain their lost
appendages at the last moult and females never regain them. After second moult, the
female nymphs become swollen with no trace of segmentation. The posterior end
of abdomen is bent upward and insect becomes roundish occupying the entire space in
the cell.
o The males may be winged or apterous and they live for 3 or 4 days after emergence.
o The male and female cells can be distinguished even during early stages. The male
has grown up in its longitudinal axis and is slipper shaped. The female has grown
up in its vertical axis and is spherical shaped.
o The male copulates with the female even while the later remains inside the cell. A
copulated female grows up very fast and secretes lac abundantly and the size of the
insect and the cell reach several times that of male cells. Thus, the female insects are
the chief producers of the lac.
o Egg laying ceases when the temperature inside the cell falls below 170C and the
nymph becomes inactive below 200C.
Host plants:

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  Palas – Butea monosperma – Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, West Bengal
 Kusum – Schleichera oleosa – Jharkhand, Chattisgarh
 Ber – Zizyphus mauritiana – Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, W.Bengal
 Ghont – Zizyphus xylopyra – Chattisgarh
 Arhar – Cajanus cajan – Assam
 Jalari – Shorea talura – Tamil Nadu
 Raintree – Samanea saman – W. Bengal
 Fig – Ficus species- Jharkhand, Punjab, Karnataka

The time of inoculation and harvesting of different lac crops are

Time of With brood

Strain Crop Time of harvesting
inoculation lac from

Baisakhi Oct – Nov Katki June - July

Rangeeni
Katki June - July Baisakhi Oct – Nov

Jethwi Jan – Feb Aghani June - July

Kusumi
Aghani June – July Jethwi Jan – Feb

Lac cultivation :
It is done by putting brood lac on suitably prepared specific host plants. The brood lac
contains gravid females which are to lay eggs to give birth to young larvae. After
emergence from mother cells, the young larvae settle on fresh twigs of host plants, suck the
plant sap and grow to form encrustations.
a) Local practice :
 In this method, the host plants are continuously exploited without giving rest for
recoupment. Only natural inoculation occurs.
 Partial harvesting is done leaving few branches untouched for auto inoculation of next
crop and no pruning is done.
 The host trees lose the vigour and cannot throw out new succulent shoots. In course
of time, the trees become weak and die.
b) Improved practice :
 The principle in improved practice is to provide much needed rest to host plants
after harvest. For this, coupe system of lac cultivation is adopted. In this, the trees
are divided into coupes i.e., groups that consist certain number of trees.
 In practice, only few numbers of trees in a coupe are inoculated. After harvest, these
trees are made to rest and recoup the last vigor while other trees are ready with
succulent twigs for inoculation. Thus, in a coupe system, alternate groups of trees are
put to lac cultivation.
 In case of slowly growing kusum, 18 months rest is given by dividing trees into 4
coupes and inoculating each coupe once in two years.

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  In case of rangeeni hosts, trees are divided into 3 coupes i.e., two large and one small
in ratio of 3:1:3. The baisakhi crop is raised in 2 large coupes in alternate years. So
that each coupe has a rest of 15 months in between and the katki crop is raised in
small coupe every year allowing a rest period of 7 months between two successive
crops.
INCOULATION METHODS, CROPPING AND ENEMIES OF LAC INSECT

Inoculation methods :
Propagation of lac insects is done by inoculation of newly hatched (brood) nymphs on the
same or different host plants.
Natural/Self/Auto inoculation: This is a simple and common process, when the swarmed
nymphs infest the same plant again. Natural inoculation, repeated on the same host, makes
the host plant weak and thereby nymphs do not get proper nutrition. Uniform sequence of
inoculation does not take place.
Artificial inoculation: The old weak and diseased twigs of host plants are pruned in January
or June. It induces host plants to throw out new succulent twigs. The cut pieces of brood
twig (i.e., 20 x 30 cm in length) are tied to fresh twigs in such a way that each stick
touches the tender branches at several places. The nymphs swarm from brood and migrate
to tender and succulent twigs and infest them. Following swarming, brood twigs should be
removed from the host plant to prevent pest infestation.

Precautions for artificial inoculation:

 Use fully matured and healthy brood
 Don’t keep the brood meant for inoculation for long and use immediately after
cutting.
 Tie the brood stick on upper surface of branches securely.
 Raise brood sticks at room temperature to 200C to induce swarming.
 Avoid cultivation of rangeeni in kusumi area and vice versa.
 Inoculate only on non rainy day.

Harvesting of lac (Cropping):

It is done by cutting the lac encrusted twigs when the crop is mature. It is of 2 types.

Immature harvesting: In this method, lac is collected before swarming. The lac, thus,
obtained is known as “ARI LAC”. In this method, lac insect may be damaged during
harvest. Ari lac harvesting is recommended on Palas only.

Mature harvesting: In this method, lac is collected after swarming. The lac obtained is
known as mature lac.

Symptoms of swarming of nymph include the following.

 A yellow spot develops on the posterior side of lac cell towards crop maturity.
 Dried out appearance of encrustation two weeks before swarming and appearance
of cracks on the encrustation at a later date.

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  Cutting of twigs for harvest can be done at any time between stages while yellow spot
occupies one third to one half of the cell area. It is sometimes desirable to wait till the
emergence of first few nymphs.
 The kartiki crop is harvested in Oct/Nov, baisaki in May/June; aghani in Jan/Feb and
Jethwi in June/July.
 The brood lac left after emergence of nymphs is known as stick lac or phunki lac.

Composition of lac:

Lac resin – 75%

Lac wax – 6%
Lac dye- 5-6%
Others- 12-13 %
 About 1.5 lakh insects produce 1 lb of lac
Lac processing:

1. Stick lac:
 After harvest, lac encrustations are removed from the twigs of host plant by scraping.
The raw lac thus obtained is known as Crude/Scraped/Stick Lac.
 The crude lac consists of resin, encrusted insect body, lac dye, sand and twig
debris.
 These sticks should be tied in bundles and immersed in running water for 3-4 days
and afterwards the stick lac should be kept for shade drying.
 The stick cannot be stored for long duration, as the lac has a tendency to form lump
and there is a loss in quality of lac. High moisture content is responsible for lump
formation.
 The optimum moisture content is 4% for storage of stick lac to avoid lump
formation.
 Raw lac should be scraped while the sticks are still moist

2. Seed Lac/ Grain Lac:

 The stick lac is crushed and sieved to remove sand and dust. It is then washed in large
vats repeatedly to break open the encrusted insect bodies, to wash out the lac dye and
twig debris. Decaying bug bodies turn the water a deep red that is processed further
to get the byproduct, lac dye. The remaining resin is dried, winnowed and sieved to
get the semi refined commercial variety product called Seed Lac.
 The seed lac is in the form of grain of 10 mesh or smaller and yellow/reddish brown
in colour

3. Shellac:
The seed lac is processed into shellac by any of the 3 methods i.e.,
Handmade Country Process/ Heat Process/ Solvent Process.

 Handmade process:

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  The seed lac is filled into long sausage shaped cloth of 2” diameter and 30 ft long.
The long bag is passed gradually in front of a charcoal fired heat hot enough to melt
the lac. By twisting the bag, molten lac is squeezed through cloth. The residue left
inside cloth bag is another variety of refuse lac known as Kirilac.
 The molten filtered mass is stretched into sheets approximately 0.5 cm thick.
Alternatively the molten mass is allowed to solidify in the form of discs and then it is
called button lac.
 Heat Process:
 To the granular seed lac 4 -5 % resin and 2 -3% yellow pigment are added and the
mixture is filled in cloth bags of about 3″long × 2 ″ in diameter.
 The mixture is melted before the furnace in which charcoal is kept burning. The
material is cooled inside and oozes out through the cloth and drops on the stone slab
in front of the furnace. When sufficient amount has been collected on the stone slab,
the molten mass is rapidly transferred to a porcelain cylinder containing hot water and
spread flat with palmyrah leaves. This is again warmed before the furnace and
stretched by men into a thin sheet with the help of his hands and feet. Defects like
knots, air bubbles, etc are punched and removed out. This is broken into pieces
and is known as shellac.
 Solvent process:
 The seed lac is dissolved in refrigerate alcohol and filtered through filter press to
remove wax and impurities.
 The colour may be removed by any standard method or by charging with activated
carbon and then alcohol is recovered.
 The molten shellac is stretched with a roller.

4. Button lac:
 It is manufactured by pouring the molten lac into a zinc sheet instead of stretching
for shellac preparation. (This results in buttons of lac 7cm diameter and 0.6 cm
thick.)
Enemies of Lac Insect

Three categories of lac enemies exist: Humans, Insects and non insects.
Humans: Occurrence of theft from the standing crop is very common practice to control this
watch and ward on cooperative basis and making the punishments deterrent will work.
Insects include both predators and parasites which will cause 30-40% damage to the lac cells.
Predators: These are more serious causing about 40% loss.
The two moths larger white lac moth Eublema amabilis (Noctuidae) and smaller black lac
moth Holcocera pulviria (Gelichidae)
 Larvae of Eublema amabilis (Noctuidae) and Holcocera pulviria (Gelichidae) are
predators on lac both in field and store.
 E. amabilis adult moths lay eggs on or near lac encrustation. The caterpillars bites its
way into the encrustation and makes the tunnel lined with silk, excrete or pieces of lac
in which it spends whole of its larval and pupal life. A single caterpillar E. amabilis
can devour 40-45 lac cells.

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  H. pulviria is more severe in stores than in fields.
 Both cause greater damage to Katki and Aghani crops are greatly affected than
Baisaki and Jethwi crops.
 Ephestia sps (Physitidae)
 Chrysopa sps (Chrysopidae)
 Larvae of Chrysopa suck the body fluid of the lac insect and do not feed on the lac.
 The predators affect not only the quantity of lac produced, but also the quality by the
presence of their larvae, pupae and their frass.
Parasites:
These are small winged insects belonging to order hymenoptera and family chalcididae. They
lay their eggs in the lac cells and the grubs on hatching devour lac insects inside the cells.
They cause 5-10%loss.
 Parecthrodryinus clavicornis
 Erencyrtus dewitzi
 Euplenus tachardiae etc.
Non insect pests
 like monkeys, squirrels, rats, birds and lizards cause a lot of damage to lac.
 Rats and squirrels cause damage up to 50%.
 The only method available are scaring them by noise or poison baiting them.
Methods of control:
 Select brood lac from healthy trees.
 Cut the brood lac from the trees as near the time of swarming, never more than a week
before.
 The crawlers start moving out in one/two days after inoculation.
 The brood lac sticks are to be removed within three weeks of inoculation. Otherwise,
the enemies of lac insect may be spread from broad lac to fresh crop.
 Remove the lac sticks from field after harvest
 Do not leave the crop in field for natural inoculation
 Pack the brood lac in 30-60 mesh wire net before inoculation.
 One to 20 kg of brood stick is necessary for inoculating a tree depending up on its size
in case of kusumi strain, 0.4 to 5 kg in case of Rangeeni strain.
 Heavier inoculation is not desirable as it may result in death of host tree.
 Yield: About 2.5 to 3 times the weight of brood lac can be expected as yield.

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Lr.No.15. Predators and Parasitoids

Parasitoid: is an insect parasite of an arthopod, parasitic only in immature stages, destroys its
host in the process of development and free living as an adult. Eg: Braconid wasps
Qualities of a Successful Parasitoid in Biological Control Programme
A parasitoid should have the following qualities for its successful performance.
1. Should be adaptable to environmental conditions in the new locally
2. Should be able to survive in all habitats of the host
3. Should be specific to a particulars sp. of host or at least a narrowly limited range of hosts.
4. Should be able to multiply faster than the host
5. Should be having more fecundity
6. Life cycle must be shorter than that of the host
7. Should have high sex ratio
8. Should have good searching capacity for host
9. Should be amendable for mass multiplication in the labs
10. Should bring down host population within 3 years
11. There should be quick dispersal of the parasitoid in the locality
12. It Should be free from hyperparasitoids
Parasitoids that live on the body of the host are called as ectoparaasites and those
that enter the body of the host are known endoparasites. If a parasitoid is confined to a single
species of insect it is said to be monophagous; if it is capable of developing upon a few
closely related host species it is called oligophagous and if it can develop upon a number of
widely different host species it is called as a polyphagous parasitoid.

Insect parasitism is of four kinds:

i. Simple parasitism: This term is applied when there is a single attack of the parasitoid
on the host, irrespective of the number of the eggs laid e.g., Apanteles taragamae
Viereck and Goniozuz nephantidis Muesebeck on Opisina arenosella wlk.
ii. Superparasitism: When many individual of the same species of the parasite attack a
single host as by Trichospilus pupivora on the pupae of Opisina arenosella Wlk. And
Cotesia glomerata (L.) on Pieris brassicae (L.), it is called superparasitism.
iii.Multiparasitism: It denotes parasitism by different species of parasitoids on the same
host at a time.

Hyperparasitiosm: It means attack of parasitoid on an insect which is already a parasite as in

the case of bethylid and braconid parasites of Opisina arenosella Wlk. The insect which
parasitizes the primary parasite of a plant pest is called inimical parasite and is liimical to
man because it destroys the beneficial primary parasite. A parasite that attacks a secondary
parasite is called a tertiary parasite. All parasites that are parasitic upon other parasites are
collectively called hyperparasites. A hyperparasite may be considered either

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1. Ichneumonidae (Fig. 4.9): Brilliantly marked active insects with long ovipositor. Most of
the members of the family are parasitic on larvae of Lepidoptera, Coleoptera and Diptera;
some are hyperparasites. Adults are very acive on sunny weather and are attracted by
umberlliferous flowers. Gambroids javensis (Rohwer) on Scirpophaga excerptalis Wlk. and
Cremastus falvoorbitalis (Cemeron) on gingelly leaf webber, Antigastra catalaunalis
(Duponchel) are examples.

2. Braconidae (Fig. 4.10): They are endoparasites eating the iternal tissues of the host.
Lepidopterous larvae are mostly attacked Pupation takes place inside a cocoon either ron the
body of the host or foliage near the dead host. E.g. Cotesia flavipes (Cemeron) and Bracon
brevicornis (Wesmael) on Opisina arenosella Wlk. and Bracon gelechidiphagus
(Ramakrishna) on brinal budworm, Scrobipalpa blapsigona (Meyrick).

3. Chalcididae: Primary or secondary parasites of lepidopterous caterpillars or pupae, or of

dipterous puparia.

4. Encyrtidae (Fig. 4.11): They are by and large external parasitoids of coccids.

5. Enlophidae (Fig. 4.12): They are by and large external parastitoids of stem borers and leaf
miners of Hemiptera, Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera and Diptera and are important parasitoids of
the apple wooly aphid, Eriosoma lanigerum (Hausmann). The female lays eggs on the ventral
aspect of the aphid and the larva feeds on the aphid through the puncture emade for
oviposition. Trichosphilus pupivora Ferr. on pupae of Opisina arenosella Wlk. and
Tetrastichus spp. on eggs of rice stem borer are examples.

6. Trichogrammatidae (Fig. 4.13): all of them are egg parasitoids of considerable value in
natural control of a wide range of insects. For instance Trichogramma australicum (Girault)
can parasitize about 150 host species, e.g., T.australicum on Chilo iinfuscatellus Sneller.

7. Platygasteridae (Fig. 4.14): Parasitoids chiefly of Cecidomyiidae e.g., Platygaster oryzae

Cemeron or rice gall fly, Orseolia oryzae (Wood Mason).

8. Scelionidae (Fig. 4.15): Very small egg parasitoids.

9. Bethyloidae: Almost all the members of the superfamily are parasitic on lepidopterous
and coleopterous larvae. e.g. Gonizus nephantidis Muesebeck on Opisina aenosella Wlk.

10. Tachinidae (Fig. 4.16): They are dipterous parasitoids. Adults resemble house fillies but
somewhat larger in size and more bristly, and are seen resting on foliage or flowers. One to
many eggs are glued to the body wall of the host or laid on foliage to be ingested by the host,

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some times young maggots are deposites on the body of the host. The maggots feed upon the
muscle sand fat bodies of the host caterpillar, which can pupate. From the host pupa,
however, only the adult parasitoid emerges leaving behind the dead pupa. e.g., Sturmia
inconspecuella Baranov and Eutachina civiloids Baranov on Amsacta albistriga Moore and
Pales bezziana (Baranov) on Optisina arenosella Wlk.

iv.inimical or beneficial to man depending upon it shost.

Some successful examples

• Control of cottony cushion scale, Icerya purchasi on fruit trees by its predatory vedalia
beetle, Rodolia cardinalis in Nilgiris. The predator was imported from California in 1929 and
from Egypt in 1930 and multiplied in the laboratory and released. Within one year the pest
was effectively checked.
• For the biological suppression of Water Fern, Salvinia molesta,the weevil, Cyrtobagous
salviniae, was imported from Australia in 1982. Exotic weevil, C. salviniae was released for
the control of water fern, S. molesta in a lily pond in Bangalore in 1983-84. Within 11
months of the release of the weevil in the lily pond the salvinia plants collapsed and the lily
growth, which was suppressed by competition from salvinia resurrected.
• Biological Control of Water Hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes ,three exotic natural enemies
were introduced in India viz.,hydrophilic weevils – Neochetina bruchi and N. eichhorniae
( Argentina) and galumnid mite Orthogalumna terebrantis (South America) in 1982 for the
biological suppression of water hyacinth.
Apple woolly aphis, Eriosoma lanigerum in Coonor area by Aphelinus mali (parasitoid)
• Control of shoot borers of sugarcane, cotton bollworms, stem borers of paddy and sorghum
with the egg parasitoid, Trichogramma australicum @ 50,000/ha/week for 4-5 weeks from
one month after planting
• Centrococcus isolitus on brinjal; Pulvinaria psidi on guava and sapota; Meconellicoccus
hirsutus on grape and Pseudococcus carymbatus on citrus suppressed by Cryptolaemus
montrouzieri.
Predators and Predatism
A predator is one which catches and devours smaller or more helpless creatures by killing
them in getting a single meal. It is a free living organism through out its life , normally larger
than prey and requires more than one prey to develop.
Insect predator qualities
1. A predator generally feeds on many different species of prey , thus being a generalist or
polyphagous nature
2. A predator is relatively large compared to its prey , which it seizes and devours quickly
3. Typically individual predator consumes large number of prey in its life time Eg: A single
coccinellid predator larva may consume hundreds of aphids
4. Predators kill and consume their prey quickly , usually via extra oral digestion
5. Predators are very efficient in search of their prey and capacity for swift movements
6. Predators develop separately from their prey and may live in the same habitat or adjacent
habitats
7. Structural adaptation with well developed sense organs to locate the prey
8. Predator is carnivorous in both its immature and adult stages and feeds on the same kind of
prey in both the stages
9. May have cryptic colourations and deceptive markings

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Eg. Preying mantids and Robber flies
Predatism
Based on the degree of use fullness to man, the predators are classified as on
1. Entirely predatory, Eg. lace wings, tiger beetles lady bird beetles except Henosepilachna
genus
2. Mainly predator but occasionally harmful. Eg. Odonata and mantids occasionally attack
honey bees
3. Mainly harmful but partly predatory. Eg. Cockroach feeds on termites. Adult blister beetles
feed on flowers while the grubs predate on grass hopper eggs.
4. Mainly scavenging and partly predatory. Eg. Earwigs feed on dead decaying organic
matter and also fly maggots. Both ways, it is helpful
5. Variable feeding habits of predator, eg: Tettigonidae: omnivorous and carnivorous but
damage crop by lying eggs.
6. Stinging predators. In this case, nests are constructed and stocked with prey, which have
been stung and paralyzed by the mother insect on which the eggs are laid and then scaled up.
Larvae emerging from the egg feed on paralyzed but not yet died prey. Eg. Spider wasps and
wasps.
Dragonflies (Odonata) (Fig.4.1): the maiads feed on aquatic insects and the adults on
insects like mosquitoes, flies and moths while on the wings. The naiads possess prehensile
labium and the adults are swift fliers at a speed of about 100 kmph and have basket like legs.

Praying mantids (Mantidae: Dictyoptera) (Fig. 4.2): The nymphs and adults are
cryptically coloured with long prehensile fore legs. They seize and feed upon flies,
grasshoppers and caterpillars.

Aphid lions or green lacewings (Chrysopidae: Neuroptera) (Fig. 4.3): Adults are not
predatory but the larvae with their long sharp mandibles grasp and puncture the bodies of
aphids and other soft insects like psyllids, coccids and jassids and mites, and suck their body
fluids.

Wasps (Vespidae: Hymenoptera): They collect various insects and feed their larvae with
them.

Mud wasp (Vespidae) and Digger wasps (Sphecidae: Hymenoptera): They construct
nests made of mud and provide various caterpillars for the young ones in the nest.

Ants (Formicidae: Hymenoptera): Caterpillars of Eublemma scitula feed upon coccids. The
predatism of E. amabilis Rambur on lac insect is not a helpful one but inimical, because iit
destroys a productive insect useful to man.

Phycitids (Phycitidae: Lepidoptera): Phycita clientella Zeller feeds upon pupae of the
castor slug, Parasa lepids (Cramer).

Robber flies ((Asilidae: Diptera) Fig.4.4): The adult flies catch insects on flight.

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Hover flies (Syrphidae: Dptera) (Fig. 4.5): Adult flies are good pollinators but the larvae
are predaceous. The green apodom maggots feed upon aphids by sucking their body fluids.

Cryptochetidae (Dptera): The maggots prey upon coccids.

Drosophilidae (Diptera): The maggots of the fly Acletoxemus indicus Malloch iis
predaceous on castor and pomegranate aleyrodids.

Among Coleoptera all Adephaga together with many Coccinellidae (Polyphaga) are
predaceous.

Ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae) (Fig. 4.6): Adults and larvae of Coccineellidae, Brumus
and Scymnus food upon aphids, coccids and other soft-bodied insect. Rodolia cardinalis
(Mulsant) feeds upon cottony cushion scale, Icerya purchase Maskell. Crypholaenus
montroncierii Mulsant is predaceous upon scales and mealy bugs and Chilocorus nigritus (F.)
on coconut scale insect, Aspidiotus destructor Signoret.

Ground beetles (Carebidae): Long-legged swift running beetles: Calleda splendidatula (F.)
feeds upon caterpillars of Opisina arenosella Walk and Orthaga exvinacea Hampson.

Tiger beetles (Cicindelidae): Cicindela spp. feed upon a variety of insects. Larvae of tiger
beetles are also predaceous, remaining at the mouth of deep furrows and seizing any insect
that passes by. Reduviid bugs (Reduviidae) (fig.4.7): Harpactor costalis Stal preys upon
Dysdercus cingulatus (F.). Pentatomid bugs (pentatomidae) (Fig 4.8): Eocanthecona
furcellata (Wolff.) feeds upon Amsacta albistriga Moore larvae. Andrallus spinidens (F.) is
predaceous on Spondoptera litura (F.), Semiothisa pervolgata Wlk. And Anticarsia irrorata
(F.).

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Lr. No.16- Pollinators, Weed Killers & Scavengers

A.INSECT POLLINATORS

In the higher plants sexual reproduction and perpetuation of species are brought about
through pollination. These plants may be either self-fertile, capable of setting fruits or seed
with their own pollen, or self-infertile requiring pollen from other plants of the same species
for cross pollination. In the self-pollinated plants pollen from the anthers automatically fall on
to their stigmas. However, even these plants may produce more and better fruits or seeds by
cross-pollination than by self-pollination. In the case of cross-pollinated plants the chief
agents which carry the pollen from plant to plant for pollination are the wind and the insects.
Cereals and grasses are wind-pollinated crops and flowers of such crops are generally small,
inconspicuous with dull coloured and poorly developed petals and brush-like stigmas; their
pollen are dry and light and re produced in large number. Horticultural crops like fruits,
vegetables and ornamental plants and field crops like cotton and tobacco are pollinated by
various insects and they have coloured and scented flowers with well-developed showy petals
of conspicuous size with nectarines and their stigmas are sticky, their pollen are sticky and
are produced in small numbers. Insect pollination results in an uniform crop and in some
cases in improvement of the quality of the fruit.

In India, about 80% or more of the crop plants depend or stand benefited from insect
pollination. About 750 to 1000 bee floral plants are estimated to be growing in India. Of the
160 million hectares of the cropped area, more than 55 million is under bee dependent crops.

Nectar is secreted by insect pollinated flowers to attract the insects. As they visit
flowers for nectar the pollen get dusted all over the body and transferred to the stigma of the
flower next visited. Thus cross pollinations is brought about. The important pollinators are
the honey bees, solitary bees like Xylocopa, Andrena and Halictus and bumble bees, Bombus
spp. Other insects that are useful as pollinators are the stingless bees, Trigona spp., wasps,
many kinds of flies Syrphus, Bombylitus and Sarcophaga, beetles, back ants, thrips,
butterflies and moths like Acherontia spp. and Delephila spp. But the wide use of broad
spectrum insecticides tends to result in decreased numbers of wild insect pollinators but not
the domesticated honey bee if proper precautions are taken during and after application of
insecticides to prevent the bees from visiting treated areas. However, insufficiency of wild
pollinators can be compensated for by employing honey bee colonies, because they can be
made available as and when man requires them.

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 Thought honey bees carry bulk of the quantity of pollen to their hive as food, a small
quantity is brushed off by the stigmas of the flowers. The potentialities of honey bees as
efficient pollinators become evident when it is recalled that members of a colony visit about
100 flowers during a field trip and make about four million field trips, every year. Fruit crops
like apple, plum, blackberry, raspberry, strawberry, citrus, grapes, papaya and cherry,
vegetables like lady’s finger, brinjal, tomato and cucurbits, and field crops like cotton, alfalfa
and clover depend upon honeybee for pollination. Carrots and such other umbelliferous
plants depend upon many flies and wasps and tobacco upon honey bees and bumble bees.
Realising the importance of honey bees in pollination of crops bee colonies are being hired
out in western countries to orchard growers in the flowering seasons. Such forced bee
populations in apples have increased the yields three-fold and in alfalfa even four times. In
Coimbatore in has been found that visit by honey bees have resulted in increased yields
ranging from 23 to 53% in cotton.

Bumble bees are generally too few in number to serve as effective pollinators in
nature. However, they are valuable in the case of crops whose flowers are large enough as
cotton and lady’s finger to facilitate pollen transfer and where the corollas are long and
tubular with deep-seated nectarines in which case short tongued bees may not be of any
value.

The structure of many of the insect-pollinated flowers like Iris is such that the insects
can hardly collect nectar from these flowers without dusting some pollen, they have gathered
from flowers previously visited, upon their stigmas. In alfalfa, when the wasp Megachile spp.
or honey bees visit the flowers and thrust their head into the neck of the flowers, the anthers
come out and dust the pollen over the body of the insect in the proper position to contact the
stigma of the next flower. The action of the flowers for receiving pollen varies in different
varieties of clover. In milkweeds the pollen masses, called pollinia, are arranged in such a
way that when an insect alights on the flower its legs slip into the fissure in the pollinia which
get attached to the iinsect leg and are carried to the next flower. In yucca the female
incurvarid moth Tegeticula yuccasella (Riley) deposits the pollen into the pistil in which she
has deposited an egg, thus ensuring the development of the fruit in which the larva feeds.

One of the most striking illustration of the dependence of plants upon insects for
pollination is afforded by fig. The Smyrna fig is exclusively female and does not produce
pollen but the fruits are fleshy and edible. The wild fig called Capri fig, Ficus carica var,
sylvestris, produces plenty of pollen but the fruits are inedible. It is the normal host for the

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agaontid wasp, Blastophaga psenes (L.). The female wasp lays her eggs and the larvae
develop in galls at the base of the flowers. The males are wingless, never leaves the host
Capri fig tree and it copulates with the female even while the latter is inside the gall. The
female wasp is winged and escapes the gall in Capri fig and in the process of it exit from the
flower gets dusted with pollen. It flies in search of fig flowers for oviposition. When it locates
a Smyrna fig flower it deposits pollen on its stigma but it cannot oviposit in it because the
ovary is deep seated beyond the reach of its oviposit in it because the ovary is deep seated
beyond the reach of its ovipositor; so only pollination is effected with pollen collected earlier
from the Capri fig. Capri fig serves as the normal host for the multiplication and supply of
wasps and for supply of pollen. Smyrna fig. not being able to produce pollen itself, depends
upon pollen from Capri fig, the transfer of which is efficiently done by the wasp. Therefore
the edible Smyrna fig has to be grown side by side with Capri fig, without which the flowers
will not be able to produce edible fruits with the characteristic odour and fleshy pulp.

Pollination service: During the early half of this century horticulturists became aware of the
magnitude of the need for cross pollination among fruit varieties. The importance of honey
bees as a pollinator was appreciated and stressed. The practice of renting bee colonies for
pollination service started in the U.S.A. by about 1910. It rapidly gained popularity and has
come too stay. The interest in the service got stimulated due to shortage of legume seeds
during second world war and during the past six decades honey bees are being employed for
pollination. It is said that every year about a million hives are being hired for pollination
service in the U.S.A.

The number of colonies to be kept in an orchard or field crops for obtained maximum
yields is a matter requiring careful consideration. However, it is usually recommended that
five colonies are maintained for two hectares of crop and it should be more in the case of
profusely flowering field crops like alfalfa and red clover. The number of colonies per unit
area depends upon the concentration of lowers, their attractiveness, the presence and number
of other pollinating insects and the present of competing crops in the vicinity. When this is
stated, it should be remembered that al colony should be appropriately strong, though much
of the efficiency of pollination depends upon the vigour and foraging habits of the colony and
climatic conditions.

A colony should be kept for pollination as near the orchard as possible to avoid waste
of time and energy on the part of the bees in making to and for trips. The colonies should be
moved into the field or orchard for pollination, just when sufficient numbers of plants have

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flowers so that there may be enough flowers for the bees to work. But care should be taken to
see that colonies are moved well before the flowers have not lost their receptivity of
fertilization. In colonies are settle earlier than the flowering season, the bees tend to visit
other flowers nearby and may not forsake them easily when the target crop comes to flower.
The colonies have to be kept at intervals which overlap at 90 m distance each since the bee
activity is concentrated within this radius from the colony. In localities where many crops are
being grown at a time, attempts have been made with some success to directing the bees to a
selected crop by previously feeding them with syrup flavoured with flower extracts from that
crop.

It would be exceedingly interesting to note that instead of allowing the bees to

pollinate crops by themselves, pollen from appropriate source can be collected by hand and
either dispersed over the bodies of field bees are they go out or kept in such a suitable manner
at the hive entrance that the bees have to walk over the pollen instead and carry them to the
fields. By this appropriate pollen can be given to any desired variety of crop.

Cross pollination aided by

Bees (Honeybees, bumble bees, - Melittophily
Orchid bees, etc)
Hawk moths - Sphingophily
Small moths - Phalaenophily
Flies (Syrphid flies) - Myophily
Butterflies -Psychophily
Beetles – Cantharophily
Ants - Myrmecophily
C. WEED KILLERS

Quite many insects feed upon unwanted weeds, just the same manner they do with
cultivated plants. Because they damage the noxious and menacing weeds, these insects are
considered helpful or friendly to man. In many cases the occurrence of these insects have
contributed much towards eradication of the weed or at least keeping it in check.

In South Indian, Opuntia dilleni was wrongly introduced in 1780 in place O. coccinellifera
for cultivating commercial cochineal insect Dactylopius cocci, valued for its dye. For
controllingOpuntia dilleni, the insect D. tomentosus was introduced from Srilanka in 1926
and within 2 years it gave effective control of O. dillenii. The prickly pear Opuntia inermis in
Australia was kept under check by the moth borer Cactoblastis cactorum.
Control of water-hyacinth: Water-hyacinth is a free-floating fresh water plant. It impedes
flow of irrigation water, interferes with pisciculture etc. and can be effectively controlled by

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two weevils namely Neochetina eichhorniae and N. bruchi and mite Orthogalumna
terebrantis. Control of Parthenium hysterophorus by beetle Zygogramma bicolorata
A successful weed killer (i) Should not itself be a pest of cultivated plants and should
not even at a later date turn to attack useful crops, which is often the case with weed killing
insect; (ii) should be effective in damaging and controlling the weed; (iii) should preferably
be a borer or internal feeder of the weed; and (iv) Should be able to multiply in good numbers
without being effected very much by parasites and predators.

D.SOIL BUILDERS

Many insects during one or more of their life stage live inside the soil and some in the
tunnels made by them. Members of almost all the orders of insects are seen in the soil and the
most important are the ants, bees, beetles, larvae of flies, cutworms, crickets, Collembola and
pupae of moths. They are usually confined to the top 15 cm of soil. Ants, termites, bees,
wasps, beetles and crickets are known to build terrestrial nests. During the process of making
tunnels and burrowing into the soil, soil particles get disintegrated, soil aeration is facilitated,
subsoil is brought to the surface resulting in turning of the soil and soil is enriched by
addition of insect saliva; the excreta and exuviae of these insects and their bodies after death
also enrich the soil. As they feed upon the decaying matter in the soil, the condition of the
soil is improved. In building and improving the soil the insects as a whole, with their
enormous numbers, must equal or exceed the earthworms.

E.SCAVENGERS

There are insects which feed upon the dead and decaying plant and animal matter.
Since insects help to remove from the earth’s surface the dead and decomposing bodies,
which would otherwise be a health hazard, they are referred to as scavengers. In addition to
cleaning the filth from human habitations, these insects help to convert those bodies into
simpler substances before returning them back to soil when they become easily available as
food for growing plants. In this respect termites, maggots of many flies and larvae and adults
of beetles are important. The following important groups of insects serve as scavengers in
nature.

(a) Coleoptera

Rove beetles (Staphylinidae): Adults and larvae abound where there is decaying plant and
animal matter including dung on the soil.

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Chafer beetles (Scarabacidae): Larvae and adults of dung rollers feed on dung or decaying
vegetable matter. Larvae and adults of dung rollers feed on dung or decaying vegetable
matter. Larvae of many other species are generally found among wood, dead leaves and other
plant refuse.

Darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae): Some of these beetles live in dung and in dead animal
matter and under bark.

Ptinid beetles ((Ptinidae): Live on dead insects, excrement and dry vegetable matter.

Skin beetles (Dermestidae): Most of the members of the family both in their larval and adult
stages feed on dead animal matters like skin, hides, wool and fur.

Nitidulids (Nitidulidae): Some of these beetles are found in decaying animal matter.

The carrion beetles (Silphidae): Almost all the species of the family feed upon bodies of
dead animals and a few on vegetable refuse.

Powder post beetles (Lyctidae) and bostrychids (Bostrychidae): They feed upon dry wood
and felled timber.

Jewal beetles (Buprestidae): Some feed upon dry and drying trees.

Water Scavenger beetles (Hydrophilidae): Adults and larvae of most species feed upon
decaying vegetable matter in water and in dump and moist situations.

(b) Diptera: In the case of dipterous insects, it is only the larvae which feed upon decaying
matter and serve as scavengers.

Daddy-long-legs (Tipulidae): Larvae usually live in moist soil, muddy waters or

decomposing materials and feed upon decaying vegetable matter.

Sand flies or moth flies (Psychodidae): Larvae live in water or in moist organic matter.

Midges or gnats (Chironomidae): Feed upon decayed organic matter in most situations.

Fungues gnats (Mycetophilidae): Larvae live upon decaying wood, manure, rotting fruits
and vegetables and upon fungus growth.

Hover flies (Syrphidae): Larvae of some species are scavengers on all kinds of decaying
organic matter.Root maggot flies (Anthomylidae): Larvae feed upon decaying vegetable
matter.Termites (Isoptera) live upon dead wood. Many ants (Hymenoptera) feed upon
dead animal or decaying vegetable matter.

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