Course No.

: ENTO 365) Credit: 2(1+1 Semester-VI

SSJP’s College Of Agriculture Course title: Management of Beneficial Insects
Syllabus
Khandala Theory
Importance of beneficial insects.
Bee keeping, pollinating plants and their cycle, bee biology, commercial methods of rearing.
Tq- Vaijapur, Dist- A.Bad Equipment used. Seasonal management. Bee enemies and diseases. Bee pasturage, bee
foraging and communication. Insect pests and diseases of honey bee.
Types of silkworm. Voltinism and biology of silkworm. Mulberry cultivation, mulberry
varieties and methods of harvesting and preservation of leaves. Rearing, mounting and
harvesting of cocoons. Pests and diseases of silkworm, their management, rearing appliances
of mulberry silkworm and methods of disinfection.
Species of Lac insect, morphology, biology, host plant, lac production – seed lac, button lac,
shellac, lac- products.
Course No. – ento 365 Identification of major parasitoids and predators commonly being used in biological control.
Insect orders bearing predators and parasitoids used in pest control and their mass
multiplication techniques, important species of pollinators, weed killer and scavengers with
their importance.

Course title- Lect Topic Weig Page

No.
ure htage
no. (%)
Management of beneficial insect
1 Importance of beneficial insects in Agriculture, Honeybee, Silkworm, 4
Lac insects, Bioagents as natural enemies, Various Institutes related to
beneficial insects
2 Apiculture: Introduction and history of Beekeeping 6
Credit – 2 (1+1) Bee keeping, morphology and anatomy, bee biology, Pollinating plants 20
and their cycle, bee conservation
3 Commercial methods of bee rearing, equipments used, seasonal 12
management of bees
4 Bee hives and their description, Bee pasturage, bee foraging, 2uxiliar 22
and communication
Name. ……………………………………………… 5 Enemies- Insect pests and diseases of honey bee and their management 26
6 Sericulture: Related terminologies, History and development of 29
silkworms in India, types of silkworm, voltinism and biology of
Registration no. …………………… silkworm
7 Mulberry cultivation, crop varieties, method of harvesting and 33
preservation of mulberry leaves 25
8 Rearing house and rearing appliances of mulberry silkworm, methods 37
of disinfection and hygiene
By- Navale Akshay Ashok 9 Silkworm rearing, mounting, harvesting and marketing of cocoons 40
10 Pest and diseases of silkworm and their management 45
Mo. 8390996493 11 Lac culture: Species of lac insect, morphology, biology, 2uxiliar, host 10 47
plants

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 12 Lac production and its uses, Types of lac- seed lac, button lac, shellac, 51 Lecture No. 1
and lac-products Importance of beneficial insects in Agriculture, Honeybee, Silkworm, Lac insects, Bio-
13 Biocontrol agents (Natural Enemies): Introduction of bioagents, Ideal 56 agents as natural enemies, Various Institutes related to beneficial insects
characteristics of bioagents, Successful examples of biological control
14 General classification: Important insect orders bearing predators and 25 58 Importance of Benificial Insects:
parasitoids used in pest control  Beneficial insects (sometimes called beneficial bugs) are any of a number of species
Identification of major parasitoids and predators commonly used in of insects that perform valued services like pollination and pest control.
biological control of crop pests.  The concept of beneficial is subjective and only arises in light of desired outcomes from a
15 Major parasitoids: Trichogramma sp., Chelonus blackburni, Cotesia 61 human perspective.
(Apanteles) sp., Bracon sp., Epiricania melanoleuca, Goniozus  In farming and agriculture, where the goal is to raise selected crops, insects that hinder
nephantidis, Campoletis chloridae, the production process are classified as pests, while insects that assist production are
Major predators: Chrysoperla sp., Australian lady bird beetle- considered beneficial.
Cryptolaemusmontrouzieri  In horticulture and gardening; pest control, habitat integration, and ‘natural vitality’
Weed killers: Zygogramma bicolorata, Neochetina spp. 15 aesthetics are the desired outcome with beneficial insects.
16 Mass multiplication and field release techniques of some important 68  Encouraging beneficial insects, by providing suitable living conditions, is a pest control
parasitoids: T. chilonis, Chelonus blackburni, Cotesia / Bracon, strategy, often used in organic farming, organic gardening or integrated pest management.
Goniozus nephantidis, Epiricania melanoleuca Companies specializing in biological pest control sell many types of beneficial insects,
17 Mass multiplication and field release techniques of important 73 particularly for use in enclosed areas, like greenhouses.
predators: Chrysoperla sp., Australian lady bird beetle, Weed  There are many insects found on agriculture land those are not threat to the crop
predators/killers: Zygogramma bicolorata, Neochetina sp. production but beneficial to the farmers in different aspects, as Natural enemies,
18 Important species of pollinator and scavengers with their importance 05 76 Pollinators, productive insects, Scavengers, weed killer and Soil builders.
Total 100  In present scenario the motive of the farmers is single sided, to gain only maximum
profit, ignoring the impact on the beneficial insects, environment and human health.
 Insecticide can be a important crop production tool to maximize yield but Heavy and
indiscriminate use of chemicals also exposes farmers to serious health risks, resulted in
negative consequences for the insect those are beneficial to the farmers.
 Fields shared by many beneficial insects, positively affect the crop yield so careful
decision should be taken to manage the insect pest and awareness among the farmers
towards the beneficial insects.
Role of Beneficial Insects As
1. Pollinators:
 Insect pollinators are flower visiting Insects that forage on flowering plants to obtain
plant-provided food (nectar, pollen).
 Flower-visiting insects have the potential to transfer male gametes (contained in pollen)
to the female gametes while foraging, resulting in pollination.
 Insect-mediated pollination is an essential step in reproduction for the majority of the
world’s flowering plants, including numerous cultivated plant species i.e. Sunflower,
Cucurbitaceous vegetables,
 Alfalfa, Coriander, Cardmom, Gingelly, Apple etc. Many crops depend on pollination for
seed production and fruit set to achieve good yield. Globally, an estimated 35% of crop
production is a result of insect pollination.
 The Apis meliffera L. (European honey bee) is responsible for the pollination servicesin
majority of crops. Non-Apis bees also are important pollinators of crops, especially for
crops in which honey bees are inefficient pollinators (e.g. alfalfa, squash).

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 A few non-Apis species are managed for crop pollination. Examples of managed non- Lecture No. 2
Apis species include bumble bees, Bombus impatiens Cresson (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Apiculture : Introduction and History of Apiculture, Bee Keeping, morphology and
managed for cranberry (Vaccinium spp.) and greenhouse tomato (Solanum lycopersicum anatomy, bee biology, pollinating plants and their cycle, bee conservation
L.) pollination.
 Although bees are considered the most effective insect-pollinator of most plant species, Introduction to Apiculture
other insects have been recognized for their contributions to pollination.
 Flower visiting flies (Diptera) have been documented as proficient pollinators of several  In the animal kingdom honey bees belong to: Phylum-Arthropoda, Class- Insecta,
crops including carrot (Dacus carota L.), mustard (Brassica spp.), leek, (Allium Order-Hymenoptera, Superfamily-Apoidea and Family-Apidae.
ampeloprasum L.), and almond (Prunis dulcis). Weevil Elaeidobius kamerunicus  Honey is highly valued food produced by honey bees and it is also used as medicine. In
(Coleoptera: Curculionidae) plays great role in pollination of Oil palm. addition to honey, other products like bees wax, pollen, royal jelly and bee venom are
Example – honey bees, solitary species, bumblebees, pollen wasps (Masarinae); ants; flies also produced by honey bees.
including bee flies, hoverflies and mosquitoes; lepidopterans, both butterflies and moths; and  More than the producers of these hive products; bees play an important role in
flower beetles. pollination of plants while collecting their food from flowers in the form of nectar and
2. Natural Enemies: pollen.
Insect predators and parasitoids that attack and feed on other insects, particularly on insect  Pollination is involved in a chain of complex events significant to our economy.
pests of plants are considered natural enemies. Through this type of feeding, natural enemies Pollination by insects including honey bees is important for ecological balance.
contribute to a type of pest regulation referred to as natural biological control.  Visitation by honey bees between distant varieties or cultivars promotes hybridization
Example – Lady Beetles (aka Ladybugs) and help sparse populations to survive. Their mutual dependency has resulted into great
3. Weed Killers: degree of co-evolution.
 So many insects feed upon unwanted weeds just the same manner they do with the  The science of rearing honey bees or beekeeping is known as apiculture.
cultivated crops.
 In many cases the occurrence of these insects has contributed much towards eradication
of the weeds. History of beekeeping
Sr. No. Bio – agents Weeds  Primitive man used to rob bee colonies found in the cavities of hollow trees or on rocks
1. Leaf beetle (Octotoma scabripennis) and in traditional mud houses (Fig. 1.1) and this is still being followed by some tribes
Leaf-mining chrysomelids (Uroplata gualdi) Lantana camara  There was no development in beekeeping until 16th century.
2. Common crap (Cyprimus carpio) Chinese crap Aquatic weed  Proper beekeeping started only when man started giving protection to colonies found in
Neochetina sp. the nature
3. Manetee or sea-cow Water hyacinth  Idea to keep bees in log hives has been reported to come from the fallen trees which were
4. Zygogramma bicolorata Parthenium (Congress) nested by the cavity nesting bees.
 Development of modern beekeeping has its origin between 1500 and 1851 when many
4. Soil Builders: attempts were made to domesticate bees in different types of hives but were not
 Insects which live in soil make tunnels, creating channels for smaller organisms, water, successful because bees attached their combs together as well as to the walls of hive and
air, and roots to travel through. combs required had to be cut for honey.
 Insects improves soil aeration, and earthworm activity can enhance soil nutrient cycle, the  The discovery of the principle of bee space in 1851 by L. L. Langstroth in USA resulted
soil physical properties, such as soil structure and tilth and activity of other beneficial soil in first truly movable frame hive. This bee space was 9.5 mm for Apis mellifera.
organisms.  This discovery was followed by subsequent innovations like comb foundation mill, honey
 Small Dung beetles makes tunnel walls with dung and also make dung balls that helps in extractor, smoker, etc., which helped in the development of modern beekeeping we see
maintaining the quality of the soil. today.
 Excreta of insets also enrich the soil. Examples- Beetles, Ants, Cut-worms, Larvae of
flies, Crickets, Termites, Wasps etc Beekeeping in India
 In India first attempt to keep bees in movable frame hives was made in 1882 in Bengal
and then in 1883-84 in Punjab.

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  In south India, Rev. Newton during 1911-1917 trained several beekeepers and devised  Two mandibles are attached to ventro-lateral part of head capsule. Mandibles differ in
a hive for indigenous bee Apis cerana based on principle of bee space (which was shape in three castes. Workers use mandibles for grasping and scrapping pollen from
named after his name as “Newton hive”). anthers, feeding of pollen and in manipulation of wax scales during comb building
 Beekeeping was also started in the Travancore state (now Cochin) in 1917 and in  Mouth parts of worker bees are modified for sucking and lapping. Tongue or proboscis
Mysore in 1925. (formed by medium labium and two lateral maxillae) is used for ingesting liquids.
 In Himachal Pradesh modern beekeeping with indigenous honey bee A. cerana started Labium has long median glossa and spoon shaped lobe (flabellum) at the end
in 1934 at Kullu and in 1936 at Kangra.  Inside the head there are long coiled strings of small lobes known as hypopharyngeal
 The exotic bee A. mellifera was successfully introduced for the first time in India in glands which secrete glandular food known as royal jelly that is fed to queen and young
1962 at Nagrota Bagwan (then in Punjab state and now in Himachal Pradesh), because larvae.
this bee has potentials to produce more honey.
 At present both the hive bee species are being used in modern beekeeping and lot of 2. Thorax
honey is also being collected from the wild bees viz. A. dorsata and A. 7uxili.  Consists of three segments: prothorax , mesothorax and metathorax, each bears a pair of
 India is producing approximately 70000 metric tons of honey annually from all the legs. Meso and metathorax, each bears a pair of wings. Legs and wings are locomotory
four species of honey bees. organs. In addition to locomotion legs in honey bees are also modified to perform
following functions:
Morphology and Anatomy of Bee  Prothoracic legs serve as antenna cleaner. Basal part of basitarsus has a notch and a small
In honey bees, body parts are modified as per their food habits and social life. Like any lobe projects from distal end of tibia (tibial spur). It is found in all the three castes.
insect, body of honey bee can be distinguished in to three parts  On mesothoracic legs, bushy tarsi serve as brushes for cleaning of thorax. Long spine at
a. Head end of middle tibia is used for loosening pellets of pollen from pollen basket of hind leg
b. Thorax and also for cleaning wings and spiracles. Wax scales are also removed from wax pockets
c. Abdomen of abdomen by these legs.
 Hind or metathoracic legs differ from other legs in being larger in size and with broad
flattened form of tibia and basitarsus. In worker bees, smooth somewhat concave outer
surface of hind tibia is fringed with long curved hairs and forms pollen basket or
corbicula.
 Two pairs of wings arise from sides of meso and metathorax. Fore wings are stronger
than hind wings. Series of upturned hooks (hamuli) are present on front margin of each
hind wing. Decurved fold on rear margin of fore wing works as coupling apparatus for
holding hamuli and this result in unity of action of the wings in flight.

3. Abdomen
 First abdominal segment is united with the metathorax and forms anatomically a part of
thorax known as propodeum
 Bee larva has 10 abdominal segments but in adult workers abdomen appears 6
segmented; segments 8-10 are reduced in size and first segment (propodeum) is
transferred to thorax during pupal stage
 Abdomen bears sting, wax glands (on sternites 4 to 7) and scent glands (on last two terga)
and genitalia in addition to other viscera
 In workers egg laying apparatus (ovipositor) is modified into sting
1. Head  Queen uses ovipositor for egg laying and for stinging rival queen.
 Bears a pair of geniculate antennae
 Two compound eyes on lateral side of head. Bees can distinguish different colours but are Bee Biology:
red blind and can perceive ultraviolet rays Every honey bee colony comprises of a single queen, a few hundred drones and several
 Head bears 3 ocelli (simple eyes) on top portion which perceive degree of light thousand worker castes of honey bees.

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Queen is a fertile, functional female, worker is a sterile female and the drone is a male 1. Rock bee (Apis dorsata)
insect.  They are giant bees found all over India in sub-mountainous regions up to an altitude of
1. Worker bees 2700 m.
 Are female bees, born from fertilized eggs, that engage in the majority of the  They construct single comb in open about 6 feet long and 3 feet deep .
work: tending larva, collecting and processing pollen, making honey, guarding  They shift the place of the colony often. Rock bees are ferocious and difficult to rear.
the hive, and other general housekeeping.  They produce about 36 Kg honey per comb per year.
2. Drones  These bees are the largest among the bees described.
 Are male bees produced from unfertilized eggs whose sole responsibility is to
reproduce with queens at surrounding hives.
 They are only produced when the hive is growing, usually during peak
pollination season, and before a swarm or when the queen is runni ng low on
sperm. 2. Little bee (Apis 10uxili)
 Drones die once they reproduce.  They build single vertical combs.
 All drones from the same hive are clones of the queen since they are produced  They also construct comb in open of the size of palm in branches of bushes, hedges,
without genetic material from a male bee. buildings, caves, empty cases etc.
3. Queen bees’  They produce about half a kilo of honey per year per hive.
 Are responsible for laying eggs.  They are not rearable as they frequently change their place.
 There is only one laying queen per hive and she can live several years under  The size of the bees is smallest among four Apis species described and smaller than
healthy conditions. Indian bee.
 They distribute only in plains and not in hills above 450 MSL.
 She mates mostly with drones from other hives.
3. Indian hive bee / Asian bee (Apis cerana indica)
 When her health is weakening or the hive is preparing to swarm, she will emit  They are the domesticated species, which construct multiple parallel combs with an
pheromones to help create new, virgin queens which can start new colon ies. average honey yield of 6-8 kg per colony per year.
Thus the lifespan of workers can be divided into two phases as first three weeks for
 These bees are larger than Apis florae but smaller than Apis mellifera.
house hold duty and rest of the life for outdoor duty.
 They are more prone to swarming and absconding. They are native of India/Asia.
Household duties
4. European bee / Italian bee (Apis mellifera)
 Build comb with wax secretion from wax glands.
 They are also similar in habits to Indian bees, which build parallel combs.
 Feed the young larvae with royal jelly secreted from hypopharyngeal gland.
 They are bigger than all other honeybees except Apis dorsata.
 Feed older larvae with bee-bread, a mixture of pollen and honey
 The average production per colony is 25-40 kg.
 Feeding and attending queen.
 They have been imported from European countries (Italy).
 Feeding drones.
 They are less prone to swarming and absconding.
 Cleaning, ventilating and cooling the hive.
5. Dammer Bee
 Guarding the hive.
 Besides true honey bees, two species of stingless or dammer bees,
 Evaporating nectar and storing honey
viz. Melipona and Trigona occur in our country in abundance.
Outdoor duties  These bees are much smaller than the true honey bees and build irregular combs of wax
 Collecting nectar, pollen, propolis and water.
and resinous substances in crevices and hollow tree trunks.
 Ripening honey in honey stomach.
 The stingless bees have the importance in the pollination of various food crops.
Five important species of honey bees are as follows.  They bite their enemies or intruders. It can be domesticated. But the honey yield per hive
1. The rock bee, Apis dorsata (Apidae).
per year is only 100 gms.
2. The Indian hive bee, Apis cerana indica (Apidae).
3. The little bee, Apis 9uxili (Apidae).
 Pollinating Plants
4. The European or Italian bee, Apis mellifera (Apidae). The importance of honey bee pollination varies per crop and can be classified as one of the
5. Dammer bee or stingless bee, Melipona irridipennis (Meliporidae).
following: essential, great, modest, and little.
Essential
 The important features of these species are given below.

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 Honey bee pollination is considered essential for eight crops: kiwifruit, passion fruit, Duration of life stages of different castes of honey bee varies which is given in the table and
rowanberry, watermelon, squash (includes pumpkin, gourd, and zucchini), macadamia presented through
nut, and brazil nut. Castes Egg period (days) Larval Stages Pupal Stages Total (days)
 These plants grow across a wide variety of agricultural climates, from temperate to (days) (days)
tropical. A.cerana A. A. A. A. A. A. A.
 Kiwifruit is most successfully pollinated via saturation pollination. mellifera cerana mellifera cerena mellifere cerana mellifera
 This method is when agricultural workers put about 8 hives for every 2.5 acres, thereby Worker 3 3 5 5 7-8 8 15-16 16
forcing bees to collect pollen from solely kiwifruit blossoms. Queen 3 3 4-5 5 11-12 12-13 18-20 21
 Passion fruit is most successfully pollinated via bee pollination because its pollen is too Drone 3 3 7 7 14 14 24 24
heavy and sticky to be transported across the wind.
 In the US state of Florida, for example, honey bees are the only pollinator for the yellow
passion fruit species.
 In Australia, agricultural workers encourage honey bee pollination by placing 2 to 3 hives
for every 2.5 acres.
Great
 Bee pollination is characterized as having great importance in the following crops:
cashew, starfruit, turnip, coriander, cucumber, durian, cardamom, loquat, buckwheat,
feijoa, fennel, apple, mango, avocado, allspice, apricot, sweet and sour cherries, plum,
almond, peach, pear, rose hips, raspberry, blackberry, naranjillo, and blueberry.
 Of these crops, blueberries require the greatest number of honey bee hives per acre,
between 3 and 4 colonies on each acre.
 Blueberries are unable to self-pollinate and produce sticky, heavy pollen, which means
this plant relies on insects to help it achieve fertilization.
 In Australia, honey bees make up 95% of the insects that pollinate this crop.
 Blueberry blossoms attract bees with sweet nectar, which is produced at the base of the
stigma.
Lecture No. 3
 Almonds are next, in terms of the number of colonies needed for pollination. Commercial Methods of bee rearing, equipments used, seasonal management of bees
 This crop requires between 2 and 3 hives per acre for proper pollination.
 The almond plant attracts honey bees and other insects because it produces flowers earlier Commercial methods of Bee rearing
in the season than other crops, making it one of the only food sources available. A. HIVE:
Two types of hives are used:
Modest 1. Indigenous methods of bee keeping
 Crops that fall under modest honey bee pollination include: eggplant, jujube, 11uxili, 2. Movable hive.
broad bean, service tree, sesame, elderberry, black currant, pomegranate, guava, prickly B. Modern methods
pear cactus, mammee apple, sunflower, cotton, strawberry, hyacinth bean, coffee plants, 1. Typical movable hive
coconut, chestnut, caraway, sword bean, rapeseed, mustard, strawberry, and okra. 2. Queen Excluder
Life cycle: 3. Honey Extractor
Queen deposits egg at the base of cell and fastens with mucilaginous secretion. After 3 days 4. Uncapping Knif
egg hatches and workers provide pearly white food in which “C” shaped larva floats. Cell is 5. Other Equipments
sealed when larva is fully grown. In the sealed cell it turns into pupa from which adult
emerges. Larva sheds skin five times during development. The sealed cells containing
worker and drone brood and honey can be differentiated on the basis of appearance
Development: The developmental stages of honey bees are: egg, larva, pupa and the adult.

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 L.L. Langstroth discovered the principle of bee space in 1851 in the U.S.A. This space
permits free passage for worker bees and is too small to build a comb by bees or too large for
depositing bee glue i.e. propolis. We can say that bee space is optimum distance between two
surfaces in a bee hive essential for normal movement and functioning of bees. This principle
was a big discovery for modern beekeeping. The modern hive has been designed on the
bases of principle of bee space in which frames can be easily moved. The bee space
measures 9.52 mm for A. mellifera and this was modified for A. cerana to be between 7 and
9 mm. Different parts of a movable frame bee hive are shown in Fig. 6.1.

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 Smoker: Used to calm down the bees while opening the hive.
Uncapping knife: Large sized knife used to uncap the frames before honey extraction.
Hive tool: An iron strip used for opening of hive and its cleaning.
Queen cell protector: A spring like structure for protecting queen cells.
Queen cage: Used to introduce a queen to new colony and also to transport the queen.
Bee brush: To brush the bees from frames.
Feeders: Different types of feeders are used for feeding sugar syrup to the bee colonies.
These can be (i) slow feeder (friction top pail feeders) in which holes are made in the lid and
the feeder is placed inverted inside the hive (ii) fast feeder (division board feeder) which is of
the size of a regular frame and the trough contains a wooden float inside the cavity.
Swarm basket: Basket to catch bee swarm.
Queen excluder: Perforated zinc sheets or round wires assembled in such a way that
workers can pass through them and queen cannot (perforation size is 4.20mm for A. mellifera
whereas worker thorax size varies from 3.33 to 3.50mm). It is used during honey flow season
to restrict queen to brood chamber and thereby preventing egg laying in the super. It is also
Figure 6.1 Parts of a movable frame hive used in maintaining multiple queen system in a colony.
Honey extractor: It is a machine to centrifuge out the honey from uncapped frames Wax
Stand: To support bottom board. melter: Double walled chamber for melting of bees wax for making comb foundation sheets
Bottom board: It is floor of the hive having an entrance for bees. On this board brood Wax melter: Double walled chamber for melting of bees wax for making comb foundation
chamber rests. sheets.
Brood chamber: Chamber used for rearing of brood. Frames are placed in this chamber on Pollen trap: For trapping corbicular pollen of returning bee foragers:. For A. mellifera
which bees raise combs. The dimensions and number of frames vary with the type of hive. A pollen trapping screen has holes of 4.7 to 5mm. and for A. cerana 3.5 to 3.7mm.
wooden dummy board is used to limit the size of brood chamber and is placed at the end of Bee escape: To provide one way passage to bees
brood frames.
Frame: Each frame consists of a top bar, two side and a bottom bar. Inner aspect of the top SEASONAL MANAGEMENT OF BEES:
bar has a groove for fixing comb foundation sheet. Side bar has 4 holes for wiring the frame. All the management practices needed for increased honey production revolve around
The frame holds a comb. the following basic principles of bee management:
Dimensions of hive: In general for A. melliferawe use Langstroth hive (named after L.L. a) Ensuring built-up of foraging force of bees at right time for collection of surplus nectar.
Langstroth) and for A. cerana, BIS (Bureau of Indian Standard) hive A and B type. In 1995, ii) Providing space for storage and ripening of nectar into honey by the bees.
BIS introduced C-type hive based on Langstroth hive, for A. melifera. Well seasoned wood iii) Removing honey from hive at right time and extracting it.
of “Kail, “Toon”, teak or rubber can be used for making good quality bee hives. Wood iv) Preparing the colonies to withstand any period of dearth and menace of bee enemies.
having strong smell is not used. Dimensions of different types of bee hives being used in Generally, beekeeping activities start with the onset of spring in cold areas. Therefore, it is
India are given below: appropriate to know the management practices, starting from spring. However, in some parts
Super: Dimensions may be same as that of brood chamber or half of it (depending on type of the country there are different seasons and the management varies as per season.
of bee hive). This is the chamber where bees store surplus honey. 1. SPRING MANAGEMENT
Inner cover: A board which acts as a partition between brood/super chamber and the roof .  The advent of spring, particularly in northern parts of the country, marks the beginning of
Top cover: A type of lid acting as roof placed over inner cover. warm weather and blooming of several tree species and cultivated crops. Following
OTHER EQUIPMENT management practices are performed:
Nucleus hive: Small bee hive for keeping 4-6 frames. These are used for mating of queens  Remove the protective covering of lightly packed hives in the early spring. But in the
and division of colonies. heavily packed colonies, the packing is removed only when daily maximum temperature
Observation hive: Small hive with glass sides so as to observe movements and 15uxiliar of has reached 16Oc.
bees (Fig. 6.4).  Examine the colonies on a sunny day. Check the food store and general condition of the
Comb foundation mill: Used to print natural cell size of desired comb foundation sheet for colony. The examination should be for short duration to avoid brood chilling and robbing
A. mellifera and A. cerana.  It is a good practice to equalize the strength of normal colonies in an apiary by giving
Bee veil: Used for preventing bee stings on face and neck . brood frames to the needy colonies

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 The colonies which do not have brood, are likely to be queen less or if queen has failed The bees direct their efforts towards building queen cells and searching for new home sites
and has become drone layer, there will be predominance of drone brood. Such colonies if Colonies show great variations in respect of swarming.
are weak (less than 5 frames), be united with other needy normal colonies. If these are Some colonies do not swarm even after becoming quite populous yet many swarm without
strong, then provide a mated queen and if not available, give a frame of brood with eggs any apparent reason indicating genetic variations to the instinct of swarming.
and young larvae for rearing new queen. b) cerana is more prone to swarming than A. mellifera.
 Give stimulatory feeding of sugar syrup (dilute syrup; 30 per cent) to the bee colonies on Indication of swarming:
the onset of spring which is indicated by the start of blooming of spring flowers. Take all The colonies start raising large number of queen cells usually along the lower edges of
the steps to guard against the robbing by bees. Bees will put their whole force during this combs . However, few emergency queen cells are also raised in the event of queen failure i.e.
period for brood rearing Provide raised combs or frames with comb foundation sheets if supersedure.
raised combs are not available so that there is no shortage of space for brood rearing. But Many bees do not go to field creating additional crowding, resulting in clustering of bees
be careful not to over expand the brood in the uncertain weather conditions of early outside the hive.
spring, which may result in chilling of brood. Time of swarming: Time to issue swarms by the colonies is from 10AM to 2PM on sunny
 Once the colony is strong enough to cover the brood, there is no risk of this problem days. If weather is not favourable, swarms may be issued even earlier in the morning or late
 Examine the colonies at least once a week on a sunny day and when conditions permit, in the evening.
clean the debris from the bottom boards. Provide empty frames as per needs of the Catching and hiving a swarm:
colonies. Ensure that each colony always has at least 5 kg of food stores  A settled swarm can easily be caught using swarm catching basket . This basket is placed
 During spring old bees die which are normally replaced by young bees. If mortality of old above the bee cluster and the cluster is gently pushed upwards so that the bees start
bees exceeds the rate of emergence of young bees, the colonies show sign of dwindling ascending into the basket. Once the queen has entered, the whole swarm will follow the
which is known as spring dwindling. queen
 Such colonies should be provided with adequate stores of pollen and honey and be given  The swarm in this basket can be taken to the apiary for hiving To make the swarm settle
1-2 sealed brood frames from the strong colonies. If all above mentioned practices are properly, a hive is prepared by giving one frame each of capped brood, pollen and honey
followed, the colonies will be well built up by the time of honey flow when maximum and provided with extra frames as per strength of the swarm.
strength is needed. However, increase in strength also induces swarming.  The swarm from the swarm catching basket is then shaken on the top bars of such a
 In warmer areas of the country, all these practices can be carried out during early prepared hive and immediately covered with burlap cloth, inner cover and top cover
summer.  Sugar syrup is also fed to such a newly settled swarm (1 part sugar dissolved in 1 part of
water).
SWARMING AND CONTROL How to prevent and control swarming?
What is swarming?  Depending on the internal and external factors, one colony may issue one to several
This is a natural instinct for increase in the number of colonies. Division of colony takes swarms resulting in loss of population of the parent colony.
place in which worker bees (30 to 70 per cent), fill their honey stomachs with the food and  To prevent swarming do as given below:
leave the colony along with old queen and this divide, called as swarm, settles down  Avoid overcrowding by adding empty combs for egg laying. Sealed brood can be shifted
temporarily generally in the nearby area of the colony on the bushes, hedges, tree branches to second hive body
etc.  Remove the queen cells at regular interval as soon as these are made.
Period of swarming: It occurs when queen has reached her peak of brood rearing activity  Delay in queen cell removal is not much effective
under the stimulus of incoming pollen and nectar, mainly in late spring or early summer, but  Provide shade and ventilation to the colonies
can also occur during summer or fall, depending upon floral conditions of the area. This  Swarming can be prevented by removing old queen (which otherwise provides the
generally occurs during the period before honey flow. supersedure impulse) followed by introduction of a young laying queen.
What causes swarming? Swarming occurs due to:  Requeening the colonies annually is also a good practice.
Overcrowding and lack of ventilation.  Another well known method of swarm control is “ Demaree plan of swarm control”
Presence of old queen which is described below:
Sudden honey flow  Examine the brood of the colony and remove all the queen cells
Lack of space for egg laying and honey storage.  Remove the brood chamber from the bottom board. Place another hive body containing
Problems due to swarming: one comb of unsealed brood, eggs and the queen on this bottom board.
Loss of working force due to division of the colony  Fill the remaining hive with empty combs.
The morale of colony is not favourable for honey collection.

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 Place queen excluder on this hive body and keep the removed brood chamber along with HONEY EXTRACTION
remaining brood and bees over it For honey extraction only sealed honey frames are removed. Do not extract uncapped honey
 Again inspect the top hive body after 10 days and remove all queen cells that may have since it is unripe and due to higher moisture contents it is liable to ferment.
been built in this interval. In 21 days, all of the brood will have emerged in the upper Time to remove supers: Early in the morning before bees start storing unripe honey in the
body and it will be used for honey storage. In this way swarming can be checked. combs. If combs are well sealed, these can be removed at any time of the day.
 Swarming instinct of the colonies can also be overcome by temporarily All the management practices of honey bee colonies are ultimately directed to get better
 dividing the colony and then re-uniting them just before honey flow. quality hive products. It is, therefore, important that apiary honey is extracted properly so as
to retain its quality. The process of extraction should be hygienic and prevent any extraneous
2. SUMMER MANAGEMENT material in honey.
Under summer management, information on indication of honey flow, method of supering,
honey extraction and management for dearth period has been provided. Requirements:
What is honey flow? : It is the period when honey bees gather and store surplus honey in Smoker, bee veil, hive tool, bee brush, empty super bodies, uncapping knife, boiling water,
the hive after attaining peak population in the colony. Honey flow is indicated by: drip trays, honey extractor, honey storage container, muslin cloth
Whitening of honey cells of the comb due to deposition of fresh wax Procedure of honey extraction:
Appearance of large quantities of burr and brace combs (freshly prepared pieces of combs)  To remove sealed honey combs, give few puffs of smoke to the colony and brush off
Increase in weight of the colonies due to incoming nectar (a colony kept on a stage balance bees from the honey combs using soft bee brush (Fig. 10.1) or bunch of soft green grass
in an apiary indicates the sudden increase in weight; such a colony is also known as balance  Place the honey combs in bee tight hive bodies and shift to honey extraction room
colony).  Never rob the colonies of their entire honey stores. Depending on strength, keep with
During this period colonies should be quite populous but without swarming instinct and each colony at least 5-10 kg of honey in case of Apismellifera and 2-3kg with A. cerana
should gather maximum honey instead of only concentrating on brood rearing. for summer and monsoon dearth periods
Colony morale should be high for honey collection.  Honey extraction room should be bee tight. After bringing the honey frames for
Supering: extraction, these can be uncapped (Fig. 10.2) either with a steam heated double walled
 With the first indication of honey flow, provide supers to the colonies. But before putting uncapping knife or with ordinary uncapping knife by heating in boiling water.
supers, examine the colonies for disease; check whether queen is present or not and  Keep these uncapped frames in hive bodies with drip trays below, till extraction
whether laying satisfactorily because after the honey flow starts, the bee keeper becomes  Put the uncapped frames in honey extractor and work at about 150 revolutions per minute
too busy in putting and taking off the supers for 1 to 2 minutes. Then reverse the sides of the frames and repeat the extraction process
 Place queen excluder between brood chamber and super so as to prevent laying in the Stock the emptied frames in hive bodies and return these to the colonies for cleaning.
super by the queen  Shorten the hive entrance to avoid robbing
 Keep swarming under check by avoiding congestion in the brood chamber. Provide  Since freshly extracted honey is warm and easy to strain, arrangements for straining using
empty combs at all the times until end of honey flow. muslin cloth and packing should be promptly made so as to prevent subsequent heating
 The space can be provided by removing sealed brood to super chamber  Clean the appliances and the place where honey is extracted Beeswax collected during
 Supers should contain drawn combs. If these are not available, provide frames with comb uncapping of honey frames should be allowed to drain off its honey. Then purify this
foundation sheets. In that case, also place at least one or two drawn combs with the comb beeswax by putting in a muslin bag and boiling in a water bath. On, cooling pure beeswax
foundation sheets to attract bees for raising the combs on foundations will float over the surface of water and all impurities will remain in the muslin bag.
 Supers can be of half or full depth. But full depth supers are more practical since frames Precautions during honey extraction
can be exchanged among different chambers  Remove only completely sealed or two third sealed combs of honey for extraction.
 When first super is full and there is a need to put the second one, it should be added  Never extract unripe honey
between brood chamber and first super  Keep sufficient food stores with the colonies as per strength and prevailing dearth
 If there is shortage of drawn combs and raising of new combs is likely to lower honey  period.
production (since bees consume about 7kg of honey to secrete one kg of beeswax), the  Do not rob the colonies of their whole stores.
fully sealed and two third sealed honey frames can be taken out for honey extraction and
empty combs can be returned for re-use OTHER MANAGEMENT DURING SUMMER
 A strong colony can collect 4.5 to 10 kg of unripe honey in a single day during good  Honey flow in most of the areas is generally followed by summer dearth period.
honey flow. Therefore, keep the supers ready for meeting colony demand. It is better to  Summer is generally marked by hot winds and ambient temperature often exceeds 40Oc.
supply at least one super ahead of needs of the colony.
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 During this period bees throw out drones and colony population also dwindles due to the superseding old queens and raise few queen cells and this is natural replacement of failing
death of old bees who have worked hard during honey flow season. queen in a colony. The new queen on emergence kills the old queen.
 Attack of bee enemies increases and robbing activity of bees is also more. If colonies are For successful overwintering, which is the non-productive season, following
not managed properly, they may even abscond. This tendency is more in A. cerana and management should be done.
little in A. mellifera. Manage the colonies as described below:  Ensure that the colony has vigorous and productive queen.
 Provide the bee colonies with shade by shifting to shady areas or placing them under open  An ideal queen is one whose egg laying rate is high and continues to lay well till late fall
straw huts Provide proper ventilation by slightly raising the brood chamber or the super and thus provides population of predominantly young bees in sufficient number for
such that bees do not pass through this ventilation. wintering Colonies below average population or having scattered or less brood than the
 Otherwise robbing may be induced Close all cracks and crevices in the hive so as to average colonies indicate failure of queens.
prevent entry of the enemies and robbers.  Replace queens of such colonies by early fall so that these colonies produce desirable
 Ensure that colonies do not remain brood less for longer duration. number of young bees Colonies for wintering should be free from disease Reduce the
 Provide sufficient food stores if the colonies have been stripped heavily of their honey comb space by removing extra frames to such a level which can be covered by the bees
stores during honey extraction Do not examine the colonies very frequently Restrict the well Under moderate climatic conditions, colonies of bees on 3-5 frames can winter
number of frames as per colony strength. successfully, if the colonies have proper food stores.
 Remove extra frames and store these safely for later use In areas where summer  Unite the weak colonies with colonies of average bee strength If colonies have less honey
temperature rises above 40Oc, gunny bags or straw packs moistened twice a day with stores, feed them with heavy sugar which is prepared by dissolving 2 parts of sugar in one
water should be spread over the top covers of the colonies Provide a source of fresh water part of boiling water and to avoid crystallization add 1 table spoon full of tartaric acid to
as honeybees maintain their hive temperature during summer by collecting water from each of 50kg of sugar.
outside source, spilling it inside hive and evaporating it by fanning.  Fill this syrup in combs and exchange for empty combs in the hive.
 This can easily be arranged in an apiary by hanging an earthen pitcher filled with water Precaution:
having a hole at its bottom, provided with a wick and allowing drops of water to fall on  Sugar should be fed while outside temperature is sufficient for bees to take syrup and
sloping stones or log of wood. store in combs after reducing its moisture.
3. MONSOON AND AUTUMN MANAGEMENT  To avoid robbing, feeding should be done only in the evening.
Monsoon management:
 In the tropical and sub- tropical regions of the country, June to September represents the
monsoon or wet season. Bees face several problems of pests, predators, excessive Lecture No. 4
humidity and starvation. Sometimes due to continuous rains, bees are confined to their Bee Hives and their description, Bee Pasturage, bee foraging, behavior and
hives for a long period. Honey bees become lethargic and may develop dysentery. The Communication
colonies need following management to keep them strong: BEE HIVE:
 Weak colonies which have become queenless, should be united with queen right colonies, Modern frame hives
since during this period due to absence of drones new virgin queen can not mate Frame hives fitted with moveable frames on which the bees are persuaded to build their
 Avoid broodlessness in colonies; if pollen stores and fresh pollen is not available, feed combs. They are usually composed of several boxes, one on top of the other, in which hives
 the colonies either pollen substitute or pollen supplement frame are suspended. The lower boxes (1-2) are used for holding the brood and the upper
 If colonies have poor food stores (below 5kg) provide sugar in the form of candy or dry ones (1-2) are used for collection of honey, pollen and propolis.
sugar instead of sugar syrup The artificial comb was first introduced by Revd. L. L. Langstroth in 1851 in America.
 Keep in check the attack of enemies like wax moth, ants, mites and wasps. Langstroth hives use standardized sizes of hive bodied ( rectangular boxes without tops or
 The hives are kept on stands sloping towards entrance in order to drain out water and bottoms placed one on top of another) and internal frames to ensure that partes are
prevent its accumulation inside the hive. interchangeable and that the frame s will remain relatively easy to remove ,inspect and
Autumn/fall management: replace without killing the bees. Langstroth hive bodies aer rectangular in shape and can be
Management practices during this period depend on the climatic and floral conditions where made from variety of materials that can be stacked to expand the usable space for the
bees are kept. In some parts of Himachal Pradesh, there is a second honey flow season in bees.Inside the boxes frames are hung in parallel .
autumn. The colonies in such places are managed as described earlier for availing honey Langstroth frames are thin rectangular structures made of wood or plastic and which have a
flow. Near the end of honey flow, reduce the hive space to the needs of colony for winter. wax or plastic foundation on which the bees draw out the comb. The frames hold the
Restrict the food storage space to the lower hive body so that bees are forced to store their beeswax honeycomb formed by the bees. Yen frames side-to-side will fill the hive body and
winter stores there instead of super. During this period many colonies make preparation for

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leave the right amount of the bees space between each frame and between the end frames and  Plants which are good source of nectar are tamarind, moringa, neem, Prosopis juliflora,
the hive body. soapnut tree, Glyricidia maculate, eucalyptus, Tribulus terrestris and pungam.
Langstroth frames are often reinforced with wire making it possible to extract honey in  Plants which are good source of pollen are sorghum, sweet potato, maize, tobacco,
centrifuges to spin the honey out of the comb. As a result the empty frames and comb can be
returned to the beehive for use in the next season. millets, coconut, roses, castor, pomegranate, and date palm.
 Plants which are good source of pollen and nectar are banana, peach, citrus, guava, apple,
The modern Langstroth hive consist of the following parts sunflower, pear, mango, and plum.
 Hive Stand: The upper hive components rests on this providing a landing board for the  Foraging: Collection of pollen and nectar by bees is called foraging.
bees and helping to protect the bottom board  Nectar foragers: They collect nectar from flowers using lapping tougue and passes the
 Bottom board: This has an entrance for the bees to get into the hive. nectar to hive bees. Hive bees repeatedly pass the nectar between pre oral cavity and
 Brood box: it is the most bottom box of the hive and is where the queen bee lays her tongue to ripen the honey later they drop the ripened honey into cells.
eggs.  Pollen foragers: They collect pollen by passing through different flowers pollen stiking
 Honey Supper: Usually shorter than the brood box but is upper most-box (s) where to the body is removed by using pollen comb. Then it is packet using pollen press into
honey is stored. corbicula or pollen basket. Then the pollen is dislodged by middle leg into cells. Pollen is
 Frames and Foundation: Wooden or plastic frames with wax or plastic sheets with mixed with honey and stored.
honey comb impression where bees build wax honey combs.  Floral fidelity: A bee visits same species of plant for pollen and nectar collection until
 Inner cover: Provides separation from outer cover and can be used as a shelf for feeding the source is exhausted. This is known as floral fidelity.
or other purposes.
 Outer Cover: Provides weather protection for the hive. Qualities of honey bees which make them good pollinators
Various Types of bee hives boxes are:  Body is covered with hairs and has structural adaptation for carrying nectar and pollen
4. Lansgstoth box (American Hive) : 42.2 cm × 31.1 cm  Bees do case injury to the plants
5. Pant, Kanje and jeolokote no. 1 : 42.2 cm × 12.3 cm  Adult and Larvae fed on nectar and pollen which is available in plenty.
6. Dadant box (Russian hive) : 47 cm × 28.6 cm  They are considered as super pollinators since they store pollen and nectar for future use
7. Thompson box : 30.5 cm × 15.2 cm  No diapauses is observed and needs pollen through out the year.
 Body size and proboscis length is very much suitable for many crops
BEE PASTURAGE:  Pollinate wide variety of crops
Honey bees collect nectar and pollen from flowering plants. Nectar is a sweet secretion from  Forage in extreme weather conditions also.
the floral and extra-floral nectarines of flowing and is the raw material for honey. Pollen is Effect of bee pollination on crops:
protein-rich food for the bees.
 It increases yield in terms of seed yield and fruit yield.
Bee Pasturage or bee forage
 It improves quality of fruits and seeds.
 The plants than yield nectar and pollen are collectively called bee flora, bee pasturage or
 Bee pollination increases oil content of seeds in sunflower.
bee forage.
 Bee pollination is must in some incompatible crops for seed set.
 The period when a good number of plants providing nectar and pollen are available to
 Some plants such as figs, peas, seasonal flowers, chrysanthemum and many ornamental
bees is called honey flow period.
plants would produce no fruits unless pollinate by bees.
 If the nectar yield is copious from a good number of plants of a particular species, it is
Crops benefited by bee pollination
called major honey flow period.
Fruits crop: Almond, apple, apricot, peach, strawberry, citrus, litchi.
 When the amount of nectar to be collected is small, it is called the dearth period.
Vegetable crop: Cabbage, Cabbage, cauliflower, carrot, coriander, cucumber, melon,
 As nectar and pollen are basic raw material for beekeeping means managing honey bee oninon, pumpkin, cardamom, radish, turnip
colonies in such a way to obtain maximum colony population for honey production and Oil seed crop: sunflower, safflower, niger, sesame, rapeseed, and mustard.
pollination.
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Forage crops: 25uxilia and clover.  When a beekeeper introduces a new queen to a colony, she must keep the queen in a
separate cage within the hive for several days, to familiarize the bees with her smell.
Management of bees for pollination  Pheromones play a role in the defense of the hive as well.
 Place hives very near the fields  When a worker honey bee stings, it produces a pheromone that alerts her fellow workers
to the threat.
 Migrate colonies near field at 10% flowering
 That’s why a careless intruder may suffer numerous stings if a honey bee colony is
 Place colonies @3/ha for Italian bee and 5/ha for Indian bee disturbed.
 The colonies should have 5 or 6 frames strength of bees, with sealed brood young mated  In addition to the waggle dance, honey bees use odor cues from food sources to transmit
queen information to other bees.
 Allow suffiecient space for pollen and honey storage  Some researchers believe the scout bees carry the unique smells of flowers they visit on
Behaviour and Communication of Honey Bee their bodies, and that these odors must be present for the waggle dance to work.
A. Honey Bees Communicate Through Movement (Dance Language)  Using a robotic honey bee programmed to perform the waggle dance, scientists noticed
the followers could fly the proper distance and direction, but were unable to identify the
 Honey bee workers perform a series of movements, often referred to as the “waggle
dance,” to teach other workers the location of food sources more than 150 meters from specific food source present there.
the hive. Scout bees fly from the colony in search of pollen and nectar.  When the floral odor was added to the robotic honey bee, other workers could locate the
flowers.
 If successful in finding good supplies of food, the scouts return to the hive and “dances”
on the honeycomb.  After performing the waggle dance, the scout bees may share some of the foraged food
with the following workers, to communicate the quality of the food supply available at
 The honey bee first walks straight ahead, vigorously shaking its abdomen and producing
the location.
a buzzing sound with the beat of its wings.
Lecture No. 5
 The distance and speed of this movement communicates the distance of the foraging site
to the others. Enemies- Insects pests and Diseases of honey bee and their Management
 Communicating direction becomes more complex, as the dancing bee aligns her body in DISEASES OF HONEY BEE
the direction of the food, relative to the sun. 1. Acarine disease is also known as Isle of wight
 The entire dance pattern is a figure-eight, with the bee repeating the straight portion of the First observed on the Isle of Wight in 1904
movement each time it circles to the center again. Causal organism: Acarapis woodi
 Honey bees also use two variations of the waggle dance to direct others to food sources Place of infection: Trachea and body fluid
closer to home. Nature of damage: Mites live and reproduce in the trachea.
 The round dance, a series of narrow circular movements, alerts colony members to the They pierce the tracheal tube walls and feed on the hemolymph of bees
presence of food within 50 meters of the hive. Stage infected : Adult
 This dance only communicates the direction of the supply, not the distance. Management:
 The sickle dance, a crescent-shaped pattern of moves, alerts workers to food supplies
 Use of grease patties placed on top bars of the hive Menthol allowed to vaporized from
within 50-150 meters from the hive.
 The honey bee dance was observed and noted by Aristotle as early as 330 BC. crystal form or mixed into the grease patties
 Karl von Frisch, a professor of zoology in Munich, Germany, earned the Nobel Prize in  Use of resistant hybrid bee known as the Buckfast bee developed by Brother Adam at the
1973 for his groundbreaking research on this dance language. Buckfast Abbey
 His book The Dance Language and Orientation of Bees, published in 1967, presents fifty  Cotton soaked in methyl salcilate and placed under the hive in flat perforated lid
years of research on honey bee communication.  Destruction of effected colony.
B. Honey Bees Communicate Through Odor Cues (Pheromones)
2. Amoebic disease
 Odor cues also transmit important information to members of the honey bee colony.
Pheromones produced by the queen control reproduction in the hive. Causal organism: Malphigian gamoeba mellifera
 She emits pheromones that keep female workers disinterested in mating and also uses Place of infection: Malphigian tubules
pheromones to encourage male drones to mate with her. Nature of damage: It causes dysentery. The cysted amoeba are passed out from intenstine
 The queen bee produces a unique odor that tells the community she is alive and well. with faeces and contaminate the healthy bees .
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Stage infected: Adult Causal organism: Ascosphaera apis
Management: Sterilization of brood box and frames with glacial acetic acid or 40% Place of infection: Gut
formalin Nature of damage: The fungus will consume the rest of the larva’s body, causing it to
appear white and ‘chalky’
3. Nosema disease Stage infected:Larvae
Causal organism: Nosema apis Management: Prevelent during wet springs transfer of healthy bees into another bee hive
Place of infection: Stomach Increasing the ventilation through the hive
Nature of damage: It invades the intenstinal tracts of adult bees and causes nosemosis and
dysentery 7. Stone brood
Stage infected: Adult Causal organism: Aspergillus fumigatus A. flavus A. niger
Management: Place of infection: Alimentary canal
 Increase the ventilation through the hives and treating a hive with antibiotics. Nature of damage: Dead larvae turn black and become difficult to crush, hence the name
 Removing much of the honey from the beehive then feeding the bees on sugar water. stone brood. Fungus erupts from the integument of larva and forms a false skin and larvae
 Sterilization of brood box and frames with glacial acetic acid or 40% formalin. are covered with powdery fungal spores
Stage infected: Larvae and adults
4. American foul brood Management: Sterilization of the hive with formaldehyde fumes
Causal organism: Paenibacillus larvae
Place of infection: Gut IMPORTANT PESTS OF HONEY BEE
Nature of damage : Infected larvae normally die after their cell is sealed. Turn dark brown 1. Death’s hawk moth
and later changes into sticky mass producing foul smell Scientific name: Acherontia styx
Stage infected: Larvae Nature of damage: Enters the bee hive at night and drinks up honey
Management: Management: The moths are thrown out by strong colony
 Hive to be burned completely.
 Use of antibiotics such as oxytetracycline hydrochloride and tylosin tartrate. 2. Greater wax moth
 Dusting the combs with sulphathiazole powder. Scientific name: Galleria mellonella
Nature of damage: The caterpillars make tunnels through near the midrib of comb during
 Dipping the hive parts in hot paraffin wax or a 3% sodium hypochlorite solution(bleach).
stress
Management:
5. European foul brood
Causal organism: Melissococcus plutonus Baccilus pluton  It will not attack the bees directly but feed on wax.
Place of infection: Mid-gut  Use of para dichlorobenzene.
Nature of damage:  Simplest way is prevent wax moth getting into the hive through gaps and space.
The diseased larvae turns yellow and then brown and the tracheal system becomes visible.  Use of traps to draw the moths away from the hive area.
Larvae dies in a coiled stage causing foul smell. Cells are poorly capped and mixed with  Wax moth larvae and eggs are killed by freezing for 24 hours.
normal cells.  Wax moths can be controlled in stored comb by application of the aizawai variety of Bt
Stage infected: Larvae spores by spraying.
Management: use of oxytetracycline hydrochloride. The ‘Shook Swarm technique of bee
husbandry can also be used to effectively control the disease 3. Lesser wax moth
Scientific name: Achroia grisella
6. Chalk brood Nature of damage: The caterpillars make tunnels through near the midrib of a comb

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Management: Character Integument : Hard outermost layer of the insect body.
 Lesser wax moths need warm climates to thrive hence, freezing beeswax combs reduces Metamorphosis : Complete change of morphology during the life cycle of the insects.
moth infection. Mountage : A device used for support of making cocoons by the silkworm larvae.
Raw silk : Fibre made with combination of filaments from several cocoons.
 Fumigation paradichlorobenzene when combs are not filled with honey. Reelers : People who convert cocoons into silk yarn.
 Fumigation with CO2 for combs that are filled with honey. Urination : Silkworm larvae excrete water before formation of cocoon is called urination.
History and development of Silkworms in India
4. Predatory wasps  Sericulture, or silk production, from the moth, Bombyx mori (L.), has a long and colorful
Scientific name: Vespa orientalis V. magnifera history unknown to most people.
Nature of damage: Prey on bees. The wasps macerate the bees and feed their larvae.  Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, B. mori is the most widely
Management: Destruction wasps nests by burning or with insecticides used and intensively studied, and techniques for its rearing are the most improved.
 This insect is the sole living species in its family, Bombycidae, and has been
domesticated for so long that it probably no longer survives in the wild.
5. Ants
 World silk production has approximately doubled during the last 30 years in spite of man-
Scientific name: Dorylus labiatus made fibers replacing silk for some uses.
Nature of damage: Take away honey and brood. Weaken and destroy the bee colony  China and Japan during this period have been the two main producers, together
Management: Destruction of ants nests by fumigation or with insecticides. Treating the legs manufacturing more than 50% of the world production each year.
of the apiaries with a repellent  China during the late 1970’s drastically increased its silk production and became the
world’s leading producer of silk.
6. African small hive beetle  The 1970’s were a period of tumultuous political and social upheaval in China, resulting
Scientific name: Aethina tumida in various economic reforms.
Nature of damage: It lives in beehives. Comb slimed by hive beetle larvae and drive out bee  Undoubtedly, these reforms are partially responsible for China’s increased silk
production. Thus the country that first developed sericulture approximately 4,700 years
colonies
ago has again become the world’s main producer of silk.
Management:  China, India ans South Korea are the major silk exporting countries, while exports from
 Use of para dichlorobenzene. Japan have declined over the years.
 Use of benzene inside the corrugations of a piece of cardboard. Types of Silkworms:
 Use of cooking-oil-based bottom board traps. There are five major types of silk of commercial importance, obtained from different species
of silkworms which in turn feed on a number of food plants: Except mulberry, other varieties
of silks are generally termed as non-mulberry silks. India has the unique distinction of
producing all these commercial varieties of silk.
Lecture No. 6
Sericulture: Related terminologies, History and development of Silkworms in India, 1. Mulberry:
Types of silkworms, Voltinism and biology of silkworms.  The bulk of the commercial silk produced in the world comes from this variety and often
Related Terminologies silk generally refers to mulberry silk.
Sericulture:  Mulberry silk comes from the silkworm, Bombyx mori L. which solely feeds on the
“Sericulture is the rearing of silkworms for the production of raw silk”. leaves of mulberry plant.
Moriculture:  These silkworms are completely domesticated and reared indoors.
“Cultivation of Mulberry plants are called moriculture”.  In India, the major mulberry silk producing states are Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, West
Cocoon : A protective covering made by the larvae of insects belonging to the group of Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Jammu & Kashmir which together accounts for 92 % of
moths and butterflies. country’s total mulberry raw silk production
Dupion : An irregular, rough silk reeled from double cocoons.
Green Cocoon : Freshly harvested cocoons with live pupa inside. 2. Tasar:
Inherited Genetic : Characters transmitted from the parents to offspring.  Tasar (Tussah) is copperish colour, coarse silk mainly used for furnishings and interiors.
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 It is less lustrous than mulberry silk, but has its own feel and appeal.  The silk obtained from biovoltines is superior with high silk content and possess longer
 Tasar silk is generated by the silkworm, Antheraea mylitta which mainly thrive on the filament length, higher neatness, cleanness, less size deviation low boil-off ratio, higher
food plants Asan and Arjun. tensile strength and less variation in evenness.
 The rearings are conducted in nature on the trees in the open.  Culturing bivotine races is therefore more profitable and generally done by sericulturists.
 In India, tasar silk is mainly produced in the states of Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Orissa,  Bivotines races such as Kalimpong, KA, NB7, NB4D2, NB18 are commonly reared in
besides Maharashtra, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. India.
 Tasar culture is the main stay for many a tribal community in India.  Five bioltine breeds namely SK3, SK4, SK6, SK7, and YB have been registered in
Tamilnadu.
3. Oak Tasar
 It is a finer variety of tasar generated by the silkworm, Antheraea proyeli J. 2. Multivoltines
 In India which feed on natural food plants of oak, found in abundance in the sub-  Multivoltins races of silkworms are of great importance since they complete 5-6
Himalayan belt of India covering the states of Manipur, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, lifecycles in year and develop non-hiberation eggs.
Assam, Meghalaya and Jammu & Kashmir.  Multivoltines cocoons are hard however , their yield is poor in comparison to biovoltines.
 China is the major producer of oak tasar in the world and this comes from another  Mysore multivoltines race is reared in Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Andhrapradesh, Nistari
silkworm which is known as Antheraea pernyi. multivoltines race is reared in West Bengal.
 Nowadays, hybrids of multivoltines and biovoltines breeds are piopular in India and other
4. Eri: silk producing country.
 Also known as Endi or Errandi, Eri is a multivoltine silk spun from open-ended cocoons,  Females of Mysore race and males of biovoltine KA, NB4D2 are hybridized.
unlike other varieties of silk.
 Eri silk is the product of the domesticated silkworm, Philosamia ricini that feeds mainly Biology of Silkworm:
on castor leaves. There are three main stages:
 Ericulture is a household activity practiced mainly for protein rich pupae, a delicacy for 1. Egg
the tribal.  Eggs are laid in the night in clusters on the under surface of mulberry leaves.
 Resultantly, the eri cocoons are open-mouthed and are spun.  A female lays about 300-400 eggs popularly called as silk seeds.
 The silk is used indigenously for preparation of chaddars (wraps) for own use by these  The eggs are small, pale white and seed like in appearance.
tribals.  At the time of hatching they become black and hatch in 10-12 days during summer and
 In India, this culture is practiced mainly in the north-eastern states and Assam. 30 days during winter.
 It is also found in Bihar, West Bengal and Orissa  In the univoltine race, the eggs do not hatch during winter but remain in hibernation,
therefore, one generation is found in year in such case.
5.Muga:  Such type of race found in European countries and Kashmir and Punjab in India.
 This golden yellow colour silk is prerogative of India and the pride of Assam state.  Contrary to this, 2-7 generation are found in multivoltine races.
 It is obtained from semi-domesticated multivoltine silkworm, Antheraea assamensis. 2. Larva
 These silkworms feed on the aromatic leaves of Som and Soalu plants and are reared on  The caterpillar on hatching is white to dark in colour and about 3 mm in length.
trees similar to that of tasar.  There are three pairs of thoracic and 5 pairs of abdominal legs which are situated on the
 Muga culture is specific to the state of Assam and an integral part of the tradition and 3,4,5,6 and 10 the abdominal segments.
culture of that state.  Young caterpillar are reared in trays on tender mulberry leaves at 25-270C.
 The muga silk, an high value product is used in products like sarees, mekhalas, chaddars,  Each day, the feed is provided 3-4 times with small quantity of leaves after 5 th day when
etc. they become big, a net of small mesh in placed over them and succulent leaves are put on
the net.
 Voltinism and Biology of Silkworm:  The larvae on getting the fod crawl above through the meshes of the net.
Silkworm breeds are mainly two types:  The larva moults 4-5 times after every 6-7 days and become mature in 30-35 days.
1. Biovoltanes  The full grown caterpillar is creamy white in colour and about 75 mm long.
 Biovoltanes silkworm go through alternating lifecycle of hibernating and non hibernating 3. Pupa (Cocoon)
eggs and complete ony two lifecycle in ayear.
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 The cocoon is 38 mm in length and 19 mm in breath, oval in shaped and white or yellow  Cuttings may be planted straight away in the main field itself or nursery may be raised
in colour. and the sprouted and rooted saplings may be planted in the main field.
 The larva pupates inside the cocoon which is made up of a single thread.  The latter method is advisable because of its easy establishment in the main field.
 It spins about 15 mm thread in an hour. Selection of planting material
 The pupa inside the cocoon is reddish-brown in colour and measures 25 mm * 7 mm.  Generally, the mulberry plants are raised from semi-hardwood cuttings.
 Cuttings are selected from well established garden of 8-12 months old.
 The pupal period lasts for 10-15 days.
 Only full grown thick main stems, free from insect and disease damages having a
 At the time of emergence of adult, it secrestes an alkaline fluid which piperces the cocoon
and it comes out. diameter of 10-12mm are chosen for preparation of cuttings.
 The cuttings should be of 15-20 cm with 3-4 active buds and should have 45o slanting cut
 It has been estimated that about 40-50 thousand caterpillar hatch out of 28 g of silk seed
at the bottom end.
and they requires about 337 to 406 kg of leaves during their development.
 Care should be taken to make a sharp clean cut at both the ends of cuttings without
 The weight in grams of 900 m ling silk filament is called a ‘denier’ and the size of a
splitting the bark.
normal cocoon is 1.8 to 3 deniers.
 Manually/power operated mulberry cutter (stem cutting machine) is available for quick
 A single cocoon weights is 1.8 to 2 gm and its shell, only 0.45 g. About 2500 cocoons
cutting of propagation material.
yield 1 lb (0.45 kg) of silk.
Nursery
Nursery bed preparation
Lecture No. 7  Select 800 sq.m. area of red loamy soil near water source for raising saplings for planting

Mulberry Cultivation, crop varieties, method of harvesting and preservation of one hectare of main field.
mulberry leaves  Apply 1600 kg of Farm Yard Manure (FYM) @ 20 t/ha and mix well with the soil.
 Raise nursery beds of 4m x 1.5m size.
MULBERRY CULTIVATION:  The length may be of convenient size depending upon the slope, irrigation source, etc.
Mulberry (Morus spp., Moraceae)  Provide a drainage channel and avoid shady area.
The important character of the members of the family Moraceae (especially Morus spp.) is Pre-treatment of cuttings
the presence of idioblast, an enlarged epidermal cell in the leaf.  Mix one kilogram of Azospirillum culture in 40 liters of water.
Ecological requirements  Keep the bottom end of the cuttings for 30 minutes in it before planting. Azospirillum is
Climate applied for inducement of early rooting.
 Mulberry can be grown upto 800 m MSL. Nursery planting
 For the optimum growth of mulberry and good sprouting of the buds, the mean  Apply VAM @ 100 g/m2 of nursery area.
atmospheric temperature should be in the range of 13Oc to 37.7Oc.  Irrigate the nursery bed. Plant the cuttings in the nursery at 15 cm x 7 cm spacing at an
 The ideal temperature should be between 24 and 28Oc with relative humidity of 65 to 80 angle of 45o.
percent and sun shine duration of 5 to 12 hours per day  Ensure exposure of one active bud in each cutting.
 Mulberry can be grown in a rainfall range of 600mm to 2500mm. Under low rainfall Nursery management
conditions, the growth is limited and requires supplemental irrigation. On an average,  Irrigate the nursery once in three days.
50mm once in 10 days is considered ideal for mulberry.  Dust one kg of any one of the following chemicals around the nursery bed to avoid
Soil termite attack.
1.malathion 5D
Slightly acidic soils (6.2 to 6.8 Ph) free from injurious salts are ideal for good growth of
2.quinalphos 1.5D
mulberry plant. Saline and alkaline soils are not preferred.
To avoid root rot and collar rot, drench the soil with carbendazim 50 WP (2 g/l) or
apply Trichoderma viride 0.5 g/m2 using rose can.
Mulberry varieties
After weeding, apply 100 g of urea/m2 between 55 and 60 days after planting at the time of
Irrigated : Kanva 2, MR 2, S 30, S 36, S 54, DD (Viswa), V1
weeding.
Semi irrigated : Kanva 2, MR 2
Age of sapling
Rainfed : S 13, S 34, RFS 135, RFS 175, S 1635
 The saplings are ready for transplanting in the main field after 90-120 days of planting.
Propagation of mulberry
Planting methods
 Mulberry is mostly propagated through cuttings.

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Paired row system : Plant the cuttings/saplings at a spacing of 75 / 105 cm x 90 cm. Raise  Apply Azospirillum @ 20 kg/ha in five split doses. Apply phosphobacterium @ 10 kg/h
intercrops in the wider inter row space (amenable for mechanization also). in two equal splits.
Spacing (cm)  Mix the bio-fertilizers with 50 kg of FYM for uniform distribution
Planting  Ensure irrigation after application
method  Do not mix bio-fertilizers with inorganic fertilizers
Irrigated Rainfed  Growing and insitu incorporation of sunnhemp.

Ridges and 60 x 60 / Micro nutrients

90 x 90  Apply recommended major/secondary nutrients based on the deficiency symptoms.
furrows 90x90
 For micro nutrients according to the deficiency symptom expressed, apply micronutrients
Pit system 90 x 90 90 x 90
as foliar spary @ Zinc sulphate 5 g, Ferrous sulphate 10 g, Borax 2.5 g, Copper sulphate
No. of cuttings / ha. - 27,780 (60 x 60 cm) ; 12,345 (90 x 90 cm)
2.5 g, Manganese 2.5 g or Sodium molybdate 100 mg/lit of water using high volume
Time of planting
sprayer (spray fluid 500 lit/ha).
 Plant during rainy season
 Add wetting agent, Teepol @ 0.5 ml/lit. for better adherence on the foliage.
 Avoid planting during winter and summer months
Methods of Irrigation
Planting of saplings
Ridges and furrows method
Plant the well rooted and sprouted saplings at a depth of 15-20 cm  Most efficient method of irrigation
 Earth up and level the area around the saplings  Comparatively requires less amount of water
 Gap fill during monsoon months.  The furrows serve as drainage channels during heavy rainfall.
Nutrient management Flat bed method
c) Irrigated / semi irrigated (kg/ha)  Rectangular beds and channels are formed
Row  Water run off is relatively low
Pit system  More land is wasted and requires more labour for field preparation.
system
N P K N P K Drip Irrigation
Recommendation 300 120 120 280 120 120  Most efficient in water use
 Substantial saving in irrigation water
Split doses
 Better crop growth
First crop 60 60 60 60 60 60
 Suitable for undulating terrains
Second crop 60 - - 40 - -  Fertilizers can also be applied along with irrigation water
Third crop 60 60 60 40 - -  Clogging of emitters by physical, chemical and biological impurities
Fourth crop 60 - - 60 60 60  Initial cost is very high
Fifth crop 60 - - 40 - - Integrated Weed Management
Sixth crop - - - 40 - - Cultural method
 For V1, fertilizer schedule is 375 : 140 : 140 kg NPK/ha.  Remove the stubbles and roots of weeds while preparing the land
 Apply fertilizers as per soil recommendation wherever possible  Use well decomposed manure to avoid dissemination of weeds
 Apply the first dose of fertilizers three months after planting  Clean the implements before use
 Follow subsequent fertilizer application after each leaf harvest and pruning Mechanical method
 Apply straight fertilizers to minimize the cost  Operate country plough after pruning in the interspace
b) Rainfed (Kg/ha)  Remove the weeds by hand hoe
N P K Chemical method
Recommendation 100 50 50  As post-emergence application, use Paraquat (Grammoxone) @ 2-3 lit/ha.
 Spray Glycel 7.5 ml with 10 grams of ammonium sulphate per litre of water as post-
First dose 50 50 50
Second dose 50 - - emergence application. A total of 600 litres of spray fluid is required/ha.
 Use flooding / deflector / fan type nozzle for spraying weedicide. Apply the weedicide
 Apply the first and second doses coinciding with South West and North East monsoons
immediately after pruning or within 2-3 days after pruning.
respectively.
Bio-fertilizers
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Mulching Exposure to bright sun light and radiation
Mulching with pruned mulberry twigs and other materials like straw and dried leaves will 2. Ensure
have the following advantages An equable temperature and humidity
 Controls weed growth Good ventilation.
 Conserves soil moisture by reducing run-off Features:
 Increases the infiltration of water  Rearing house should be built depending on the brusing capacity and the method of
 Reduces the soil temperature rearing.
 The rearing area of 2 sq.ft/ dfl for floor rearing and 3 sq. ft/ dfl for shoot rearing is the
Harvesting general criteria.
The method of leaf harvest depends on the type of rearing practiced. It is preferable  Rearing house should have a main rearing hall, an ante room (8 x 8 ft) and leaf
to harvest the leaves during morning hours. There are three methods of harvesting of preservation room.
mulberry leaves  Maintaining a separate chawki room (a must for two- plot rearing system; rearing room of
Leaf picking size 10’ x 14’ with a height of 9-10 ft for an acre of garden) ideal.
Individual leaves are harvested with or without petiole. Leaf picking starts 10 weeks after  Rearing house should face east-west direction.

bottom pruning and subsequent pickings are done at an interval of 7 – 8 weeks.  Rearing houose should have facilities to maintain the required environmental conditions.

Branch cutting  Growing trees around rearing house helps to maintain favourable environment

The entire branches are cut and fed to the worms. Before that, topping is done to ensure  Rearing house should be constructed taking consideration he following points such as

uniform maturity of the lower leaves. effective is disinfection, washable floor, etc.
Whole shoot harvest  480 sq.ft area is required for rearing 100 dfls.
Preparation of rearing house
The branches are cut at ground level by bottom pruning. Shoots are harvested at an interval
 Rearing room is to be kept ready after disinfection atleast 3-4 days in advance of
of 10-12 weeks and thus 5 to 6 harvests are made in a year.
commencement of rearing.
Time of harvest  Preconditioning of the rearing house is essential ie, arrangement of rearing appliances and
It is preferable to harvest the leaves during morning hours.
provision of essential environmental conditions one day in advance.
Preservation of leaves
Preparation for brushing
Use leaf preservation chamber or wet gunny bags to store the leaves or cover the bamboo
 Before commencement of each rearing, the rearing equipments and rearing houses must
basket with wet gunny bags to keep it cool and fresh.
be thoroughly washed and disinfected with chlorine dioxide.
 Chlorine dioxide is sprayed on equipments, walls, roof and floor uniformly to destroy the
disease causing organisms.
 The rooms should be kept closed for about 24 hours after disinfection.
 The doors and windows should be kept open at least for 24 hours before commencement
Lecture No. 8 of rearing to avoid traces of disinfectants.
Rearing house and rearing appliances of mulberry silkworm, methods of  To disinfect rearing room and rearing appliances, chlorine dioxide can be used. 500 ml of
disinfection and mulberry leaves chloride dioxide is mixed with 50 g of activator and this is dissolved in 20 litres of water .
Rearing House To this, 100 g of lime powder has to be mixed.
 A separate house is ideal for rearing of silkworm
 The rearing house should have sufficient number of windows to permit cross ventilation.
Rearing appliances
 Provision should be made to make it air tight for proper disinfection.
Non recurring (General)
 Rearing house has to be built in such a way to provide optimum temperature of 26-28º c
 Disinfection mask and protective gum shes
and RH of 60-70% for the growth of silkworm at minimum operational cost
 Sprayer for disinfection
Important principles  Room heater
The most important principles to be remembered in silkworm rearing house are :
 Water air cooler
1. Avoid
 Kerosene blow lap
Damp condition
 Wet and dry thermometer
Stagnation of air
 6” forceps
Direct and strong drift of air
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Non-recurring (specific)  After 8 to 10 minutes, the egg sheet is inverted over rearing tray and gently tapped.
Egg transportation box Leaf chopping board Shoot rearing rack  Worms that are still attached to the egg sheets should be gently removed to the tray with a
Egg incubation chamber Leaf chopping knife Chandrike feather.
Loose egg incubation frame Leaf mat Plastic basin  A rearing bed is prepared and some more chopped leaves, if necessary, are sprinkled.
 To prevent drying of leaves and to maintain the required humidity in the rearing bed, wet
Black box Bed cleaning nets Buckets
foam pads and paraffin paper covering are provided.
Chawki rearing trays Earthen pot Mug
Rearing bottom stand Litter basket Plastic box
Feeding Stand Late age rearing trays Foam pads
Lecture No. 9
Ant wells Rearing stand Foot rugs Silkworm Rearing, mounting, harvesting and marketing of cocoons.
Leaf chamber for late age Leaf basket Cleaning nets
Recurring YOUNG AGE SILKWORM (CHAWKI) REARING
 Paraffin paper
Selection of leaves
 Formalin
 From brushing to the end of second age, the larvae are fed with tender leaves.
 Bleaching powder rd th
 The leaves are selected from the largest glossy leaf, 3 or 4 from the top.
 Lime powder
 The next 6 to 8 leaves are used to rear the young age worms upto II moult.
 Bed disinfectants nd
 The size of the chopped leaf is around 0.5 to 1.0 sq.cm. during 2 age.
 Slides and cover slips
 Illustrate with the help of a figure, the selection of leaves from a fully grown branch.
 Gunny cloth
Leaf preservation
 Cora cloth
 Silkworm grows best when fed with succulent leaves which are rich in nutrients and
moisture.
DISINFECTION  The leaves, if not preserved properly, dry up and become unsuitable for feeding.
 Spray 2 % formalin with 0.3% slaked lime or 2.5 % chlorine dioxide with 0.5 % slaked
 The harvested leaves must be preserved in fresh condition in a wet gunny cloth.
lime @ 2 l/m2 area for disinfecting the rearing house immediately after completion of  If the climate is too hot and dry, the leaves are preserved in a leaf chamber which is lined
rearing and three days before brushing. with gunny cloth.
 Dip the rearing equipments in 2 % bleaching powder solution and sun dry before use.
 The cloth is kept wet by spraying water at frequent intervals.
 Dust 5% bleaching powder with slaked lime powder @ 200 g/m2 around the rearing
Cleaning
house and passages and sprinkle water @ 1 lit / m2 floor area.  It is the process of removing the silkworm excreta and left over leaves in the rearing bed
Incubation of egg and hatching  In the first age, one cleaning is given just a day before the worms settle for moulting.
 The egg sheets should be spread out as a single layer in a chawki tray.
 In the second age, two cleanings are given, one after resuming feeding and the other
 Temperature of 25Oc and humidity of 80 per cent are maintained. For this, paraffin
before second moult.
papers and wet foam pads may be used.  A net with mesh size of 0.5 x 0.5 cm is spread over the rearing bed and feeding is given.
 When the eggs come to head pigmentation stage (about 48 hours before hatching), they
 The worms crawl through the net and come to fresh leaves.
should be kept in dark condition by wrapping them in black paper or by keeping them in a  The net along with the worms and leaves are transferred to another tray.
box (black boxing). On the expected day of hatching, eggs are exposed to light, early in  The left over leaves and litter are discarded.
the morning to ensure uniform hatching. This facilitates uniform development of Moulting
embryo.  At the time of moulting, care should be taken not to disturb the worms.
 Most of the eggs (90 to 95 per cent) will hatch in about 2 to 3 hours.
 Correct detection of moult and stopping or resuming feeds are very important for uniform
Low cost method of preservation of eggs growth of silkworms.
 The eggs can be kept in an earthen incubation chamber.
During moult, the rearing bed should be kept thin and dry by applying lime @ 30 – 50 g/m2
 Draw the diagram and observe how humidity is maintained in the chamber.
and should have proper aeration.
Brushing
 The hatched larvae should not be starved and they must be brushed on a paraffin paper in LATE AGE SILKWORM REARING
a rearing tray or blue polythene sheet (Rearing bed).  The third, fourth and fifth instar larvae are considered as late age worms. They are reared
 This is done by sprinkling chopped tender mulberry leaves of size 0.5 to 1 cm2 over the in bamboo trays. Newspapers are spread over the trays to absorb excess moisture in
hatched larvae. The larvae crawl on to the leaves. leaves and faecal pellets.
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 The temperature and humidity requirement gradually comes down as the stage advances.  Fluctuation of humidity causes abrupt thinning and thickening of silk filament.
th
 Leaves of medium maturity (6 leaf onwards) are fed in the third and fourth age and  A relative humidity of 60-70% is ideal for spinning.
coarse leaves are fed in the fifth age.  Provide proper ventilation and straw mats below the mountage to quid excreta.
 Over matured and yellow leaves should be rejected, since they may induce disease  Provide even and moderate lighting. Improper lighting (bright light or dark shadow)
outbreak. causes crowding of larvae to shaded area leading to double cocoons.
nd
 Bed disinfectants  Remove dead worms and non-spinners on the 2 day of spinning.
Apply bed disinfectants like TNAU Seridust, Resham Jyothi, Vijetha or Sajeevini @ 4  To protect the silkworm from predatory ants, apply malathion 5% dust/lakshman rekha at
kgs/100 dfls. the base of mountage stand.
Stage (before Bed disinfectant Harvesting
feeding) (Qty/100 dfls) (g)  The silk worms complete spinning in 2 to 3 days but the cocoons should not be harvested
st
After 1 moult 50 at this time as the worms inside are still in the prepupal stage.
th
nd
After 2 moult 150  Harvesting should be done on the fifth day (7 day for bivoltine hybrids) when pupae are
rd
After 3 moult 800 fully formed and hard.
 Do not harvest when the pupa is in amber colour.
After 4th moult 1000
 Dead and diseased worms on the mountages should be removed before harvest.
On fourth day of 2000 th
 Marketing of cocoons should be done on the sixth day (8 day for bivoltine hybrids).
final instar
Total 4000 Shoot rearing for late age worms
Moulting Silkworm larvae consume 85% of their food requirement during fifth instar. Fifty per cent of
 Remove the paraffin papers the labour input is utilized during the last seven days of rearing.
 Evenly spread the larvae in the rearing bed 6-8 h before settling for moult. Rearing house
 Provide air circulation to avoid excess humidity inside the room.  Provide separate rearing house for shoot rearing in shady areas. Separate room should be
 Provide charcoal stove/heaters to raise the room temperature during winter. provided for young age worm rearing, leaf storing and hall for late age worm rearing.
 Apply lime powder at 60 minutes before resumption of feeding daily during rainy/winter Shoot rearing rack
seasons to reduce the dampness in bamboo trays.  A rearing rack of 1.2m x 11m size is sufficient to rear 50 dfls.
Mounting  Provide 15 cm border on all sides of the shelf to prevent the migration of the larvae.
 Apply Sampoorna @ 20 ml (dissolved in 4 l of water) per 100 dfls over the leaves for  Arrange the shelves in three tier system with 50 cm space between the tiers.
early and uniform spinning of cocoons.  Fabricate the rack stand with wood, or steel and the rearing seat with wire mesh/bamboo
 After attaining full growth in the final instar, the worms cease to feed and are ready to mat.
spin. Shoot harvesting
 Such worms are slightly translucent and raise their heads to find a place for spinning.  Harvest the shoots at 1 m height from ground level at 60 to 70 days after pruning.
 These worms have to be picked up and transferred to a mountage for spinning cocoons.  Store the shoots vertically upwards in dark cooler room.
 Mounting of worms should not be delayed as the ripened worms will waste silk.  Provide thin layer of water (3 cm) in one corner of storage room and place the cut of
 About 800-900 worms per m2 are to be kept on a mountage. For 100 dfls, about 30 to 40 shoots in the water for moisture retention.
chandrakis are required. Feeding
 Mountages should be kept under shade in well ventilated place.  Provide a layer of newspaper in rearing shelf.
Care during spinning  Disinfect the bed, spread the shoot in perpendicular to width of the bed.
 Quality of silk depends on the care taken at the time of spinning.  Place top and bottom ends of the shoots alternatively to ensure equal mixing of different
 Mature worms are sensitive to temperature, humidity, light, etc., at the time of spinning. qualities of leaves.
 The ripe worm requires space equal in area to square of the length of its body for  Transfer the third instar larvae to shoots immediately after moulting.
spinning. th
 Watch for feeding rate from 4 day of fourth instar. If 90% of larvae have not settled for
 Proper spacing avoids wastage of silk for forming preliminary web and avoids double moulting, provide one or two extra feedings.
cocoons.  Provide 3 feedings during rainy/winter months and 4 feedings during summer rearing.
 To prevent staining of cocoons, keep mountage in an inclined position so that the urine Spacing
may drop to the ground.  18-36 m2/100 dfls.
Maintenance of humidity
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Bed cleaning  The seed for P1 rearing in these areas is sent/produced in different P2 stations are called
 Bed cleaning is done once during second day of fifth instar following rope (or) net basic seed stations.
method.  Usually in first week of june when this P1 rearing finishes and seed cocoon or P1 cocoons
 In rope method, spread 2 m length of rope (two numbers) at parallel row leaving 0.5m on are ready for transportation to various grainages where hybrid seed is to be produced.
other side.  A small calendar for those limited no.of seed areas is drawn by the department and on
 After 2 to 3 feedings, ends of the ropes are pulled to the centre to make it into a bundle. each date a known quantity of cocoon is transported from these areas to the nearest
 In net cleaning method, spread 1.5 cm2 size net across the bed. grainages.
 After 2 or 3 feedings, the nets are lifted and the old bed is cleaned and disinfected.  The government of J&K has fixed a price of Rs. 100/kg of seed cocoon as against
 Transfer the net to newer shelf, spread the net over the shoots; larvae will migrate to Rs.70/kg for commercial cocoons.
lower layer.  These cocoons are weighed and stored in different trays in grainages and payment due to
Advantages these farmers for their produce is made on the spot.
1. Labour saving upto 70% when compared on hour to hour basis with leaf feeding method.
2. Leaf saving upto 15-20%. Hence, leaf cocoon ratio is less by 2-3 kg and extra cocoon 2. COMMERCIAL COCOON MARKET :
production. a) Green Cocoon Market:
3. Better cocoon characters and effective rate of rearing (ERR).  In J&K, the green cocoon market for commercial cocoons takes place for a limited
4. Better preservation of leaf quality both during storing and on the bed. quantity.
5. More organic matter production (upto 18 tonnes per ha per year).
 Just after finishing the commercial rearing this type of market takes place in certain
6. Better hygienic conditions can be maintained. rearing areas where green cocoons are purchased by certain reelers.
7. Handling of silkworms 43uxiliary. Hence, contamination and spreading of disease
 The reelers or buyers who desire to buy green commercial cocoon inform the department
reduced.
of sericulture prior to the culmination of spring rearing.
8. Bed cleaning only once after IV moult.
9. Worms and leaves are kept away from the litter.  They also inform about the quantity and nature of hybrid for which they are interested ton
10. Hence, chances of secondary contamination are 43uxiliary. purchase as green commercial cocoon, accordingly the department organizes a meet
between the buyers and producers i.e. rerears for sale/purchase of these cocoons.
11. Labour dependent risk is reduced.
 Usually some of the farmers prefers to sell their produce or cocoons in green cocoon
Disadvantages market rather than to wait 2-3 months for dry cocoon market.
1. Required rearing room floor area is more (by 30%)  The buyers make on the basis of on spot negotiation of price.
2. Bed refusals will not be available as a cattle feed.
3. Planting materials (cuttings) will not be available. b) Dry cocoon Market:
 Dry cocoon market usually takes place in the month august/September in the valley and
MARKETING OF COCOONS: in the month of june/Jylly in the Jammu province.
 In sericulture we are usually having two types of cocoon market:-  After finishing the commercial rearing the rearers dry these cocoon under various
1. Seed cocoon market methods like sun drying bleck cloth sun drying and in hot air dryers so that the pupa
2. Commercial cocoon market inside it gets killed and the moisture is also removed so that no fungal attack could take
a) Dry cocoon market place in these cocoons.
b) Green cocoon market  After drying these cocoons, the rearers store them in loose gunny bags for a period of
more than 2-3 months, preferably keep hanging with a roof on the ceiling so that the
1. SEED COCOON MARKET rodents or rats may not drainage them.
 It takes usually in commercial grainages where hybrid seeds are produced.  At a start dry cocoon market a calendar is issued by the department of sericulture which is
 The department of sericulture has identified certain areas which are P1 or seed cocoon called “cocoon marketing calendar”.
producing areas.  It contains various details like the name of the district/market where auction will be done
 The silkworm rearer present in such areas are also called as P1 rearers. and the approximate quality of cocoons to be auctioned in each cocoon market and
 These rearers are highly trained in rearing pure breeds of silkworms and they produce officers Incharge of the cocoon market along with their phone numbers.
cocoon which are also called P1 cocoons.  These market are established at each district headquarter for few days.
 No hybrids rearing are allowed in such P1 areas.
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 Usually the grading takes place on the basis of shell weight and shell ratio percentage but At the time of spinning ash or kerosene is put at the handles of mountages to keep the
usually the main method of grading is no. of cocoons/kg. ants off.
 If a lot has 1800-2100 cocoons/kg. It is designed as A-grade lot and more the no. of DISEASES OF SILKWORM
cocoons i.e. up to 2400 it is graded as B and similarly more than 2400 it is designed as C-  Viral Disese
grade cocoon.  Bacterial Diseases
 The govt. has fixed as floor price of Rs. 210/kg of dry cocoon but recently it has been  Fungal Diseases
revised upto Rs. 500/kg  Protozoan disease : Pebrine

 The auction/bidding of these lots takes place on the spot and various buyers participate in d) Viral Disese – 1Grasserie 2Flacherie
the auction. Symptom:
 The larvae will be sluggish with swollen intersegmantal region

Lecture No. 10  The integument of diseases larvae will be fragile and brakes easily

Peat and Diseases of Silkworm and their management  On infury milky fluid containing many polyhedral inclusion bodies oozes out from the

PESTS OF SILKWORM larval body

1. Uzifly (Exorista soebillans)  The diseases larvae do not settle for moult and showshining integument

Type of damage  The larvae appear to be restless

 Mature maggot causes reduction in yield of cocoons and cocoon quality.  The dead larvae hand by hind legs head downward

 Causes death of silkworm larva. Management

Symptoms 1. Sun drying of rearing appliances for one/two days
o Presence of creamy white oval eggs on the skin of larvae in the initial stage. 2. Disinfection of rearing room and appliances with 5% bleaching powder
o Presence of black scar on the larval skin 3. Disinfection of worms, trays and discarding of diseased worms
o Silkworm larvae die before they reach the spinning stage (if they are attacked in the early 4. Ensure proper ventilation and air circulation
stage). 5. Provide proper bed spacing
o In later stage, pierced cocoon is noticed. 6. Feed the larvae with nutritious mulberry leaves
Period of occurrence 7. Collect and burn infected larvae, faecal matter and bed refuses
o Throughout the year, severity is more in winter months 8. Early diagnosis and rejection of infected lots
o Maintain sanitary and hygienic conditions in the rearing room. 9. Dust the bed disinfectant, Vijetha (or) Resham Keet Oushadh on the larvae, after each
o Provide physical barriers like wire mesh in the doors and windows of the rearing rooms. moult and ½ hr. before resumption of feeding (3 kg/100 dfl).
o Spray 1 per cent benzoic acid over the larvae to kill the eggs of uzi fly. 10.Spray 1% of extract of Psoralea coryleifolia on mulberry leaves, shade dry and feed
o Dissolve the uzicide tablets in the water (2 tablets/l) to attract the adults. worms once during third instars.
o Release the gregarious, ectopupal hyperparasitoid, Nesolynx thymus (Eulophidae: e) Bacterial Diseases
Hymenoptera) @ 1 lakh adults/100 dfls during night hours. Release the hyperparasitoid in
three split doses @ 8000, 16,000 and 76,000/100 DFLs during fourth and fifth instars and Bacteria and viruses cause the disease individually or in combination. Fluctuating
after cocoon harvest. temperature and humidity and poor quality mulberry predispose the disease development.
2. Beetles (Dremestes cadeverinus) Coleoptera  The diseased larvae will be stunted in growth, dill lethargic soft and appear flaccid

Types of damage  The cephalothoracic region may be translucent

The adults and grub and other dermestid beetls are attracted to the smell of cocoons in  The larvae vomit gut juice, develop dysentery and excrete chain type fecus.

storage.  The larvae on death putrefy, develop different and emit foul smell

Symptoms Management
They eat of cocoons, enclosed pupa and often the eggs of silkworms. 1. Maintenance of hygienic condition
The females of these beetles lay their eggs in creviceps, organic and wooden boards. 2. Disinfection of rearing room and appliances
Management 3. Disinfection of worms, trace and discarding of sick worms
Occasionally, the rooms could be fumigated with CH3 Br (Methyl bromide) 4. Avoid injury to the worms, overcrowding of trays and accumulation of faeces in the
3. Ants rearing bed
The attack on silkworms in earning trays. 5. Sound management, improving the rearing environment and feed stuff
Management 6. Feeding the larvae with healthy nutritious leaves.

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7. Early diagnosis and rejection of infected lots Two species of lac insects Tachardia lacca and T.chinensis are common, of which the
8. Avoid spraying commercial B. t. insecticides in nearby mulberry field. former one is predominant in India. India is the highest lac-producing country.
9. Apply antibiotics like Streptomycin/Tetracyclin/Ampicillin
f) Fungal Diseases - Muscardine Species of Lac Insect:
White muscadine is caused by a fungus Beauveria bassiana and the green muscadine is Four species of lac insects are
caused by a fungus Spicaria prasina. Aspergillosis is common in young age silkworms and 1. Kerria lacca.
the infected larvae will be lustrous and die. Dark green (Aspergillus flavus) or rusty brown ( 2. Tachardia signoret
Aspergillus tamari)47uxilia cluster are seen on the dead body. 3. Tachardiella cockrell.
 The diseases larvae prior to death will be lethargic and on death are flaccid 4. Tachardina cockrell.
 oil specks may be seen on the surface of larvae Kerria lacca is available in Bangladesh.
 They gradually be fome hard, dry and mummify into a white or green coloured structure The first scientific account of the lac insect was given by J. Kerr in 1782 which was
 The diseases pupae will be hard, lighter and mummifies
published in Philosophical Transaction of Royal Society of London (vol. 71, pp.374-
Magagement 382). The first scientific name given to it was Tachardia lacca following the name of
2. Sundry the rearing appliances.
French Missionary Father ‘Tachardia’. It was later changed to Laccifer lacca Kerr.
3. Disinfect the rearing room and utensils with 5 per cent bleaching powder
4. Avoid low temperature and high humidity in the rearing room The other name given to it hasbeen Kerria Lac Kerr.
5. Keep the rearing bed thin and dry Phylum – Arthropoda
6. Early diagnosis and rejection of infected lots Class – Insecta
7. Apply Dithane M45 (3 kg/100 dfls) / Vijetha supplement as disinfectant on the larvae Order – Hemiptera
8. Disinfect rearing rooms and trays with 4 per cent pentachlorophenol to control Suborder – Homoptera
Aspergillosis. Super family – Coccoidea
a) Protozoan disease : Pebrine Family – Lacciferidae
 Diseases larvae show slow growth, undersized body and poor appetite. Genus – Laccifer
 Diseases larvae reveal pale and flaccid body. Tiny black spots appear on larval
integument. Morphology:
 Dead larvae remain rubbery and do not undergo putrefaction shortly after death.  Lac insect is a minute crawling scale insect which inserts its suctorial proboscis into
Management of Pebrine plant tissue, sucks juices, grows and secretes resinous lac from the body.
1. Produce healthy eggs  Its own body ultimately gets covered with lac in the so called ‘CELL’.
2. Disinfection of rearing room and utensils
3. Maintain strict hygienic conditions during rearing  Lac is secreted by insects for protection from predators.
4. Surface disinfect the layings in 2 per cent formalin for 10 minutes before incubation.  The head, thorax and abdomen are not clearly distinct.
5. Collect and burn the diseased eggs, larvae, pupae and moths, bed refuses, faecal pellets,  Eggs hatch within a few hours of laying, and a crimson-red first instar nymph called
etc. crawlers come out.
 The crawler measures 0.6 x .25 mm in size.
 At this stage, both male and female nymphs live on the sap of the trees.
Lecture No. 11
Lac Culture: Species of lac insects, morphology, biology, behavior, host plant.
 They insert their suctorial proboscis into plant tissue and suck the sap.
Lac Culture:  The resin secreted is semi-solid which hardens on exposure to air into a protective
“Lac culture is the scientific management of lac insects to obtain a high amount of covering.
quality lac”.  The nymphs molt thrice inside the cells before reaching maturity.
This involves selection and maintenance of host plants, inoculation of host plants with  The duration of each instar is dependent on several factors, viz. temperature,
healthy lac insects, collection and processing of lac and protection against enemies. humidity and host plant.
Lac:
Biology and behavior
“Lac is the resinous secretion of lac insects”. Eggs:

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The female lays eggs inside the encrustation 200-500 eggs are laid which may be either Spots enlarge and turns orange by the time the female oviposit the eggs into ovisac
fertilized or unfertilized At this stage, the twigs are cut and removed for inoculation (Brood lac) to new trees
Female lays 3 types of eggs Egg laying ceases when the temperature inside the cell falls below 170C and the nymph
1. Equal no. of male and female becomes inactive below 200C
2. More males and less females
3. More females and less males HOST PLANTS:
Female lays eggs which will hatch within few hours- Ovoviviparous type  Lac insects thrive on twigs of certain plant species, suck the plant sap, and grow all the
Nymphs: while secreting lac resin from their bodies, These plants are called host plants.
Nymphs are minute, about 0.6 mm long, soft bodied, pointed posteriorly, deep red in colour  Although lac insect is natural pest on host plant, these insects enjoy the privileged
with black eyes position not being treated as pest.
Wander on the shoots (swarmimg), move mostly upward towards tender branches and settle  This is because: i) they yield a useful product, ii) the host plants are economically not so
on them important, and iii) the insects cause only temporary and recoverable damage to the host
They start feeding by piercing the shoot andsettleon the shoot and do not move about plants.
They secrete resin over their body after one/two days of settling  About 113 varieties of host plants are mentioned as lac host plant.
The resin glands are situated all over the cuticle except near mouth parts, anus and breathing  Out of which the followings are very common in India:
pores 1. Butea monosperma (Vern. Palas)
The resinous covering increases with the growth of insect 2. Zizyphus spp (vern. Ber)
The nymphs moult thrice and become the adults 3. Schleichera oleosa (Vern. Kusum)
After first moult, both male and female nymphs lose their eyes, antennae and legs 4. Acacia catechu (Vern. Khair)
Sex dimorphism is more pronounced after 1stmoult 5. Acacia 50uxilia (Vern. Babul)
Male cell is elongate with a pair of holes at the anterior end from which white hairs comes 6. Acacia auriculiformis (Vern. Akashmani)
out 7. Zizyphus xylopyrus (Vern. Khatber- grown in part of M.P. & U.P.)
Female cell is globular with an irregular margin with 6 holes, 3 at top, 1 at hind and 2 at 8. Shorea talura (Vern. Sal grown in mysore)
anterior end 9. Cajanus cajan (Vern. Pigeon-pea or Arhar)
Male nymphs start developing the organs after 2ndmoult 10. Grewia teliaefolia (Vern. Dhaman preferred in Assam)
11. Albizzia lebbek (Vern. Siris/Gulwang)
Adult: 12. Flemingia macrophylla (Vern. Bholia)
Male and female are different from each other i.e., female is 3 times larger then male 13. Ficus benghalensis (Vern. Bargad)
Male: 14. Ficus religiosa (Vern. Peepal)
2 types, winged or wingless  Of these host plants, palas, kusum, ber and khair are of major importance, while others
Only 1 pair of wings and winged males appear during dry season (Baisakhiand Jetwi) are of regional and minor importance.
Survives for 3-4 days and die after copulation  It is also important to mention that the quality of Lac Culture lac is directly related to the
Elongate and slipper shaped host plant and to the strain of lac insects.
The males regain their lost appendages at the last moult  Based on industrial parameters, kusumi lac is better and fetches higher price in market.
Female:  In this respect, ber tree as a potential kusumi lac host is already getting momentum.
Short and spherical  This host species is available in plenty and can supplement and fulfill the kusmi brood lac
After second moult, the female nymphs become swollen with no trace of segmentation requirement in many areas.
The posterior end of abdomen is bent upward and insect becomes roundish  Similarly, siris (Albizzia sp.) has also been identified as good host for kusumi brood lac.
Females never regain lost appendages  The trees can be raised and utilized within a period of 5-6 years of plantation in
Mesothoraxis provided with a appendage through which spiracles are open comparison to around 15 years for kusum.
The male copulates with the female even while the later remains inside the cell  Flemingia semialata is a bushy host plant and has also been identified as well as
A copulated female grows up very fast and secretes lac abundantly and the size of the insect established as a good kusumi lac host on plantation basis.
The female cell size reach several times that of male cells  Thus, these three hosts viz., ber, siris, semialata and lately Prosopis juliflora (in Gujarat
Thus, the female insects are the chief producers of the lac areas) are expected to enhance kusumi lac cultivation.
Before egg laying, female develop 2 yellow spots posteriorly  Adoption of this activity may enhance lac production to the tune of 3-4%.

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  The cut pieces of brood twig (i.e., 20 x 30 cm in length) are tied to fresh twigs.
Lecture No. 12  Each stick touches the tender branches at several places.
Lac Production and its uses, Types of lac- Seed lac, Button lac, shellac, and lac-  The nymphs swarm from brood and migrate to tender and succulent twigs and infest
Products them.
Lac Production/Cultivation:  Following swarming, brood twigs should be removed from the host plant to prevent pest
 Done by inoculating brood lac on suitably prepared specific host plants infestation.
 The brood lac contains gravid females which are to lay eggs to give birth to young larvae
 After emergence, the young larvae settle on fresh twigs of host plants, suck the plant sap Precautions for artificial inoculation:
and grow to form encrustation a) Use fully matured and healthy brood
a) Local practice: b) Inoculation should be done immediately after cutting the brood lac
 The host plants are continuously exploited without giving rest for recoupment c) Tie the brood stick on upper surface of branches securely
 Only natural inoculation occurs and Partial harvesting is done. d) Raise brood sticks at room temperature to 200C to induce swarming
 Few branches are left untouched for auto inoculation. e) Avoid cultivation of rangeeniin kusumiarea and vice versa
 The host trees lose the vigourand become weak and die. f) Inoculate only on non rainy day
Harvesting of lac (Cropping):
b) Improved practice: Cutting the lac encrusted twigs when the crop is mature. It is of 2 types.
 To provide much needed rest to host plant safter harvest. b) Immature harvesting:
 Trees are divided into coupesi.e., groups that consist certain number of trees.  In this method, lac is collected before swarming and lac obtained is known as “ARI
 Only few numbers of trees in a coupe are inoculated. LAC”
 After harvest, these trees are made to rest and recoup the last vigor.  In this method, lac insect may be damaged during harvest
 Other trees are ready with succulent twigs for inoculation.  Ari lac harvesting is recommended on Palasonly
 Alternate groups of trees are put to lac cultivation. c) Mature harvesting:
 Kusumis slowly growing, hence 18 months rest is given In this method, lac is collected after swarming and lac obtained is mature lac
 The trees are divided into 4 coupes and inoculating each coupe once in two years Symptoms of swarming of nymph include the following
 Plants of resting coupes are pruned a) A yellow spot develops on the posterior side of lac cell towards crop maturity
 InRangeenihosts like Palasand ber, trees are divided into 3 coupes i.e., two large and b) Dried out appearance of encrustation two weeks before swarming
one small in ratio of 3:1:3 c) Appearance of cracks on the encrustation at a later date
 The baisakhicrop is raised in 2large coupes in alternate years Harvest can be done at any time between stages while yellow spot occupies one third to one
 So that each coupe has a rest of 16 months in between and the katkicrop is raised in small half of the cell area
coupe every year allowing a rest period of 8months between two successive crops. •It is sometimes desirable to wait till the emergence of first few nymphs.
Selection of Site •The brood lac left after emergence of nymphs is known as stick lac or phunkilac
Pruning
a) Inoculation: Composition of lac:
 Propagation of lac insects is done by inoculation of newly hatched (brood lac) nymphs on Lac resin –68%Lac wax –6% Lac dye-1-2%Others-25%
host plants Types of lac
 Lac sticks bearing alive mother cells which are about to oviposit are called as Brood Lac 1. Stick lac: After harvest, lac encrustations are removed from the twigs of host plant by
 One to 20 kg of brood stick is needed for inoculating a tree based on size of scraping
kusumistrain, 0.4 to 5 kg in case of RangeeniNatural/self/auto inoculation: swarmed The raw lac thus obtained is known as crude/scraped/stick lac
nymphs infest the same plant again The optimum moisture content is 4% for storage of stick lac to avoid lump formation
 Natural inoculation, repeated on the same host, makes the host plant weak nymphs do not 2. Button lac:
get proper nutrition  lac formed into cakes shaped like buttons by melting and solidifying.
 Uniform sequence of inoculation does not take place  Button Lac is the preferred choice for French Polishing, Floor Finishing, tough &
moisture resistant finishes.
b) Artificial inoculation:  Button Lac contains wax and may not be as compatible as dewaxed shellac when being
 The old weak and diseased twigs of host plants are pruned in January or June. used in combination with other finishing products like Polyurethane, Waterlox etc.
 Induces host plants to throw out new succulent twigs.
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3. Seed lac/grain lac:  Usually the milder alkalis, ammonia, borax and sodium carbonate can also be
 The stick lac is crushed and sieved to remove sand and dust, washed in large vats employed to prepare aqueous solutions.
 Decaying bug bodies turn the water a deep red that is processed further to get the  Shellac is acidic in character. Acid value is 70. It is an ester.
byproduct,lac dye
 Saponification value 230. It has free five hydroxyl groups and has hydroxyl number
 The remaining resin is dried, winnowed and sieved to get the semi refined commercial
variety product called seed lac
260. It has unsaturation indicated by iodine value of 18.
 The seed lac is in the form of grain of 10 mesh or smaller and yellow/reddish brown in  Free aldehydic group also has been indicated by carboxyl value of 18. Its average
colour molecular weight is 1000.
4. Shellac: The seed lac is processed into shellac by any of the 3 methods i.e., handmade  Normal wax content of shellac is 5% which is insoluble in alcohol.
country process/heat process/solvent process/ Solvent process  It is soluble in n-hexane, pure 54uxiliary54, and other hydrocarbon oils. It is hard
and having melting point 840 C.
LAC PRODUCTS AND THEIR USE: It has the following extra ordinary properties:
1. Lac dye ii) It is thermoplastic.
Lac dye is a mixture of anthroquinoid derivatives. iii) It is approved for various applications in the food industry.
It is traditionally used to color wool and silk. iv) It is uv-resistant.
Its colour varies between purple red, brown and orange often depending upon the v) It has excellent dielectric properties, dielectric strength, a low dielectric consent,
mordant used. good tracking resistance etc.
It is used in food and beverages industry for coloring. vi) It has excellent film forming properties. Its film shows excellent adhesion to
In recent past, lac dye has been replaced by synthetic dye. wide variety of surfaces and possess high gloss, hardness and strength
But, now-a-days with increasing stress and awareness on use of eco-friendly and safe vii) Shellac is a powerful bonding material with low thermal conductivity and a
material particularly associated with human contact and consumption has made revival small coefficient of expansion. Its thermal plasticity and capacity of absorbing
of great demand of lac dye as a coloring material. large amounts of fillers is noteworthy.
2. Lac wax viii) Shellac under tropical conditions of storage, may soften and form a solid block,
Lac wax is a mixture of higher alcohols, acids and their esters. It is used in – without adverse effects on its properties. Long storage under adverse conditions,
Polishes applied on shoes, floor, automobiles etc. however, may lead to deterioration in properties
Food and confectionary, and drug tablet finishing
lipsticks Use:
Crayons  It is used in fruit coatings, e.g. for citrus fruits and apples, parting and glazing
3. Shellac agents
 Shellac is a natural gum resin, a nature’s gift to the mankind and is used in over 100  for sweets, marzipan, chocolate etc. Also used as binder for foodstuff stamp inks,
industries. e.g. for cheese and eggs.
 It is natural, non toxic, physiologically harmless and edible resin.  It is used as binder for mascara, nail varnish additive conditioning shampoo, film
 Shellac is a hard, tough, amorphous, and brittle resin containing small amount of  forming agent for hair spray, micro-encapsulation for perfumes.
wax and a substance responsible for its characteristic pleasant odour.  It is used for enteric (i.e. digestive juice-resistant) coatings for tablets and as odour
 The lac resin is not a single chemical compound, but an intimate mixture of several  barrier for dragées.
components.  It is used in manufacturing of photographic material, lithographic ink and for
 Shellac is slightly heavier than water. Its natural colour varies from dark red to light stiffening felt and hat material.
yellow.  It is utilized in preparation of gramophone records.
 When slowly heated, it softens at 65-70Oc and melts at 84-90Oc.  Jewellers and goldsmiths use lac as a filling material in the hollows in ornaments.
 Shellac is insoluble in water, glycerol, hydrocarbon solvents and esters, but  It is also used in preparation of toys, buttons, pottery and artificial leather.
dissolves readily in alcohols and organic acids.  It is also used commonly as sealing wax.
 The solvent most commonly employed to dissolve shellac is methylated spirit.

NAVALE AKSHAY Mo. 8390996493 Page 53 NAVALE AKSHAY Mo. 8390996493 Page 54
With increasing environmental awareness of consumers, this natural and renewable  Electronics (it is binder for insulation materials, serves as additive to moulding
raw material is being used increasingly in the development of new products apart from compounds. Mass coating for print-plates and is adhesive for si-cells.)
the conventional user industries. Few to name:  Grinding wheels (it is binder for additive of grinding wheels)
 Leather: Seasoning, Leather care products  Plastic (it is primer for plastic parts and films)
 Printing inks: As binder for flexographic printing inks for non-toxic printing of  Rubber (it is additive to natural rubber)
food packaging  Leather (in leather auxiliaries)
 Wood treatment: Primers, polishes, matt finishes 5. Dewaxed bleached shellac
 Textiles: As stiffeners Dewaxed white shellac is used in the same way as any other grade of shellac. The
 Electrical: Insulation, capping, lamination major difference between this shellac and the others is that it is a bit harder, shines a
 Abrasives: Binder for grinding wheels bit brighter, is completely free from wax.
 Others: Binder for inks and water colours, Micro-encapsulation for dyes Use:
 Coating of fruits and vegetables
4. Bleached shellac  Coating in tablets & capsules
 Bleached shellac is non-toxic, physiologically harmless (edible), and is widely used
 Coating in confectionary
in the food industries, food packaging and allied industries.
 Coating in aluminium foil, paper
 Apart from the above, bleached shellac is also used for its qualities i.e. binding,
 Coating in cosmetic industry
adhesive, hardening, gloss, odourless, fast drying, and extending shelf life (in
 In cosmetics, it is used in hair sprays (pump sprays or aerosol sprays, hair setting
absence of refrigeration ) etc.
lotions, hair shampoos, mascara, eyeliners, nail polishes, lipsticks, micro
 Clear and transparent or very light coloured alcoholic or water – alkali solutions can
encapsulation
be obtained from bleached shellac.
 by coacervation of fragrances and perfume oils.
Use:
Bleached shellac is widely used in the following industry:  In food, it is used for coating of confections, chewing gum, candles, cakes, eggs,
citrus fruits and apples, and printing inks for eggs and cheese.
 Paints (primer for plastic parts and plastic film)
 Aluminium industry (primer for Aluminium and Aluminium foils)
 Flexographic printing inks
 Pharmaceuticals (for coating of pills, tables and gel caps and coating for
controlled release preparation)
 Confectionery (in coating of confections, chewing gums, marzipan chocolates,
nutties, jelly- and coffee-beans etc)
 Binder for food marking and stamping inks and Binder for egg coating
 Barrier coating for processed food, vegetables, fruits and dry flowers Lecture No. 13
Biocontrol agents (Natural Enemies): Introduction of bioagents, Ideal characteristics of
 Textiles (used as textile auxiliaries and felt hat stiffening agents)
bioagents, Successful examples of biological control
 Cosmetics ( used in hair spray, hair and lacquers, hair shampoos, and binder for Definition:
mascara) “Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests such as insects, mites,
 Wood finishing (as binder for wood coatings and wood stains and as filler/sealer weeds and plant diseases using other organisms”.
for porous surfaces and cracks ) OR
 Antique frames for paintings and Wood polish (French polish) “Biological control has been defined simply as the utilization of natural enemies to reduce
 Fire works and pyrotechnics ( as binder for fireworks, matches etc and used in the damage caused by noxious organisms to tolerable levels”.
coating of magnesia Introduction of Bioagents:
 Electric (as binder for lamp cements)  Biological control agents are living organisms, including parasites, predators and disease
causing fungi, bacteria and viruses.

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  These are the natural enemies of pests, which can intervene the life cycle of insect pests ii. Sugarcane white woolly aphid (Seratovacunalanigera):
in such a way that the crop damage is minimized. This pest of sugarcane was also successfully managed by bio agents viz. Diphaaphidivora,
 They are both less toxic and more flexible than chemical pesticides. Chrysoperla spp., Coccinellid beetles, Syrphid flies and some spiders in the states of
 Biological control includes a wide range of approaches, from natural predators to Maharashtra and Karnataka, where its outbreak during 2003-04 had caused considerable
biologically produced molecules. economic damage to the farmers.
 Microorganisms, including viruses, bacteria, fungi and protozoan, cause disease or poison iii. Apple woolly aphid (Eriosomalanigerum) and Sanjose scale
their targets through toxin production. (Quadraspidiotusperniciosus)
 These bio agents can be conserved, preserved and multiplied under Laboratory condition These two dreaded pests of apple plants are under check by their bioagents like
for field release. Aphelinusmali, Syrphusconfrater, Chrysopascelestesetc. In case of apple woolly aphid and
 Once these bio-agents are introduced in the field to build their population considerably, Encarsiaperniciosi, Aphytisspp., Chilocorusbijugus, Pharoscymnus spp. Etc. in case of
they are capable of bringing down the targeted pest’ population below economic Sanjose scale in apple growing states of the country
threshold level (ETL). iv. Water hyacinth (Eichhorniacrassipes):
 However, the crux lies in their mass production and application at the appropriate time. This aquatic weed was successfully controlled in Southern states of India through its two
 Among all pest management techniques, the microbial agents are most effective in exotic phytophagous weevils i.e.Neochetinaeichhorniae and N. Bruchi.
controlling the target insect-pest and require appropriate formulation and application. v. American bollworm / Gram Caterpillar (Helicoverpaarmigera):
Ideal Characteristics of Bioagents A polyphagous insect pest was successfully managed with the use of Nuclear Polyhidrosis
a. Narrow host range. virus (NPV) on Cotton, Pulses, Vegetables, Oilseeds etc.in India.
Generalized predators may be good natural enemies but they don’t kill enough pests when vi. Aphids
other types of prey are also available. An example of biological control is the release of parasitic wasps to control aphids. Aphids
b. Climatic adaptability. are a pest of plants and cause huge damage to plants as they remove nutrients from the plant.
Natural enemies must be able to survive the extremes of temperature and humidity that they In this way the aphid population will decrease quickly.
will encounter in the new habitat. vii. Entomopathogenic nematodes to control wine weevil
c. Synchrony with host (prey) life cycle. Heterorhabditis bacteriophora nematodes are used to control pests such as wine weevil;
The predator or parasite should be present when the pest first emerges or appears. their control effect is helped by releasing bacteria into the soil which attack the wine weevil.
High reproductive potential. Good biocontrol agents produce large numbers of offspring. viii. Sclerotinia sclerotiorum controlled by fungal spores
Ideally, a parasite completes more than one generation during each generation of the pest. Soil application of fungal spores of Coniothyrium minitans is used to destroy surviving
d. Efficient search ability. structures of the common plant pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum.
In order to survive, effective natural enemies must be able to locate their host or prey even ix. Control of powdery mildew by Ampelomyces quisqualis
when it is scarce. In general, better search ability results in lower pest population densities. Another example of biological control is leaf application of fungal spores of Ampelomyces
e. Short handling time. quisqualis to control mildew on greenhouse crops
Natural enemies that consume prey rapidly or lay eggs quickly have more time to locate and x. Codling moth killed by viruses
attack other members of the pest population. Small populations of efficient natural enemies A spray with entomopathogenic viruses such as Cydia pomonella granulovirus (CpGV) is
may be more effective biocontrol agents than larger populations of less efficient species. used to kill codling moths.
f. Survival at low host (prey) density.
If a natural enemy is too efficient, it may eliminate its own food supply and then starve to
death. The most effective biocontrol agents reduce a pest population below its economic
threshold and then maintain it at this lower equilibrium level. Lecture No. 14
General classification: Important insect orders bearing predators and parasitoids used
Successful examples of biological control in pest control Identification of major parasitoids and predators commonly used in
i. Sugarcane Pyrilla (Pyrilla perpusilla): biological control of crop pests.
There was a severe outbreak of Sugarcane Pyrilla during 1972-73 in the states of Punjab,
Haryana, U.P. and Bihar which was successfully controlled by utilization of potential Important insect orders bearing predators and parasitoids used in pest control:
biocontrol agents like Egg parasitoid Tetrastichuspyrillae and Nymp halpredator Used in biological control of insects and mites . Most parasites and pathogens, and many
Epipyropsmelanoleuca. This pest in Karnataka was successfully controlled by its potential predators, are highly specialized and attack a limited number of closely related pest species.
biocontrol agents. Learn how to recognize natural enemies by consulting resources such as the Natural Enemies
Handbook and the.
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1. Parasites Identification of major parasitoids and predators commonly used in biological control
 A parasite is an organism that lives and feeds in or on a host. of crop pests.
 Insect parasites can develop on the inside or outside of the host’s body.
 Often only the immature stage of the parasite feeds on the host. 1. Predators
 However, adult females of certain parasites (such as many wasps that attack scales and  Predators are mainly free-living species that directly consume a large number
whiteflies) feed on and kill their hosts, providing an easily overlooked but important of prey during their whole lifetime.
source of biological control in addition to the host mortality caused by parasitism.  Given that many major crop pests are insects, many of the predators used in biological
 Although the term “parasite” is used here, true parasites (e.g., fleas and ticks) do not control are insectivorous species.
typically kill their hosts.  Lady beetles, and in particular their larvae which are active between May and July in
 Species useful in biological control, and discussed here, kill their hosts; they are more the northern hemisphere, are voracious predators of aphids, and also
precisely called “parasitoids.” consume mites, scale insects and small caterpillars.
 Most parasitic insects are either flies (Order Diptera) or wasps (Order Hymenoptera).  The spotted lady beetle (Coleomegilla maculata) is also able to feed on the eggs and
Parasitic wasps occur in over three dozen Hymenoptera families. larvae of the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata).
 For example, Aphidiinae (a subfamily of Braconidae) attack  The larvae of many hoverfly species principally feed upon aphids, one larva devouring
aphids. Trichogrammatidae parasitize insect eggs. up to 400 in its lifetime.

 Aphelinidae, Encyrtidae, Eulophidae, and Ichneumonidae are other groups that parasitize Their effectiveness in commercial crops has not been studied.
insect pests. Predatory Polistes wasp searching for bollworms or other caterpillars on a cotton plant
 It’s important to note that these tiny to medium-sized wasps are incapable of stinging Several species of entomopathogenic nematode are important predators of insect and
people. The most common parasitic flies are the typically hairy Tachinidae. other invertebrate pests.
 Adult tachinids often resemble house flies. Their larvae are maggots that feed inside the  Entomopathogenic nematodes form a stress–resistant stage known as the infective
host. juvenile. These spread in the soil and infect suitable insect hosts.
2. Predators  Upon entering the insect they move to the hemolymph where they recover from their
 Predators kill and feed on several to many individual prey during their lifetimes. stagnated state of development and release their bacterial symbionts.
 Many species of amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles prey extensively on insects.  The bacterial symbionts reproduce and release toxins, which then kill the host insect.
Predatory beetles, flies, lacewings, true bugs (Order Hemiptera), and wasps feed on Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita is a microscopic nematode that kills slugs.
various pest insects or mites.  Its complex life cycle includes a free-living, infective stage in the soil where it
 Most spiders feed entirely on insects. becomes associated with a pathogenic bacteria such as Moraxella osloensis.
 Predatory mites that feed primarily on pest spider mites include  The nematode enters the slug through the posterior mantle region, thereafter feeding
Amblyseius spp., Neoseiulus spp., and the western predatory mite, Galendromus and reproducing inside, but it is the bacteria that kill the slug.

occidentalis. The nematode is available commercially in Europe and is applied by watering onto
moist soil.

3. Pathogens Entomopathogenic nematodes have a limited shelf life because of their limited
 Natural enemy pathogens are microorganisms including certain bacteria, fungi, resistance to high temperature and dry conditions.
nematodes, protozoa, and viruses that can infect and kill the host.  The type of soil they are applied to may also limit their effectiveness.
 Populations of some aphids, caterpillars, mites, and other invertebrates are sometimes  Generalized life cycle of entomopathogenic nematodes and their bacterial symbionts.

drastically reduced by naturally occurring pathogens, usually under conditions such as Species used to control spider mites include the predatory mites Phytoseiulus
prolonged high humidity or dense pest populations. persimilis, Neoseilus californicus,[43] and Amblyseius cucumeris, the predatory
 In addition to a naturally occurring disease outbreak (epizootic), some beneficial midge Feltiella acarisuga, and a ladybird Stethorus punctillum.

pathogens are commercially available as biological or microbial pesticides. The bug Orius insidiosus has been successfully used against the two-spotted spider
 These include Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt, entomopathogenic nematodes, and granulosis mite and the western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis).
viruses.  Predators including Cactoblastis cactorum (mentioned above) can also be used to
 Additionally, some microorganism by-products, such as avermectins and spinosyns are destroy invasive plant species.
used in certain insecticides; but applying these products is not considered to be biological  As another example, the poison hemlock moth (Agonopterix alstroemeriana) can be
control. used to control poison hemlock (Conium maculatum).
2. Parasitoids

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 Parasitoids lay their eggs on or in the body of an insect host, which is then used as a food  Trichogramma wasps are small and very uniform in structure, which causes difficulty in
for developing larvae. identifying the separate species.
 The host is ultimately killed. 
As females are all relatively similar, taxonomists rely upon examination of males to tell
 Most insect parasitoids are wasps or flies, and many have a very narrow host range. the different species apart, using features of their antennae and genitalia.
 The most important groups are the ichneumonid wasps, which mainly use caterpillars as  The first description of a Trichogramma species was in North America in 1871, by
hosts; braconid wasps, which attack caterpillars and a wide range of other insects Charles V. Riley.
including aphids; chalcid wasps, which parasitize eggs and larvae of many insect species;  He described the tiny wasps that emerged from eggs of the viceroy butterfly
and tachinid flies, which parasitize a wide range of insects including as Trichogramma minutum.
caterpillars, beetle adults and larvae, and true bugs.  In taxonomy, original specimens are very important, as they are the basis of reference for
 Parasitoids are most effective at reducing pest populations when their host organisms subsequent descriptions of species.
have limited refuges to hide from them.
 Encarsia formosa, widely used in greenhouse horticulture, was one of the first biological Biological control:
control agents developed.Life cycles of greenhouse whitefly and its parasitoid  Trichogramma spp. Have been used for control of lepidopteran pests for many years.
wasp Encarsia formosa Parasitoids are among the most widely used biological control
 They can be considered the Drosophila of the parasitoid world, as they have been used
agents.
for inundative releases and much understanding today comes from experiments with these
 Commercially, there are two types of rearing systems: short-term daily output with high
wasps.
production of parasitoids per day, and long-term, low daily output systems.
 Entomologists in the early 1900s began to rear Trichogramma spp. For biological
 In most instances, production will need to be matched with the appropriate release dates
control. T. minutum is one of the most commonly found species in Europe and was first
when susceptible host species at a suitable phase of development will be available.
mass reared in 1926 on eggs of Sitotroga cerealella. T. minutum has been investigated as
 Larger production facilities produce on a yearlong basis, whereas some facilities produce
a method of biological control of the Choristoneura fumiferana, a major pest of spruce
only seasonally.
and fir forests.
 Rearing facilities are usually a significant distance from where the agents are to be used
in the field, and transporting the parasitoids from the point of production to the point of  Nine species of Trichogramma are produced commercially in insectaries around the
world, with 30 countries releasing them.
use can pose problems.
 Trichogramma wasps are used for control on numerous crops and plants; these include
cotton, sugarcane, vegetables, sugarbeets, orchards, and forests. Some of the pests
Lecture No. 15 controlled include cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera), codling moth (Cydia
Major parasitoids: Trichogramma sp., Chelonus blackburni, Cotesia (Apanteles) sp., pomonella), lightbrown apple moth (Epiphyas postvittana), and European corn borer
Bracon sp., Epiricania melanoleuca, Goniozus nephantidis, Campoletis chloridae, (Ostrinia nubilalis).
Major predators: Chrysoperla sp., Australian lady bird beetle Cryptolaemusmontrouzieri  Trichogramma species vary in their host specificity.
Weed killers: Zygogramma bicolorata, Neochetina spp.  This can lead to nontarget hosts being parasitized.
 This, in turn, can cause problems by reducing the amount of parasitism of the target host,
Major parasitoids: and depending on the rate of parasitism, nontarget effects could be significant on
1. Trichogramma sp. nontarget host populations.
 Trichogramma is a genus of minute polyphagous wasps that are endoparasitoids of insect  Research is being done on the use of Trichogramma wasps to control populations of
eggs. Trichogramma is one of around 80 genera from the family Trichogrammatidae, spruce bud moth (Zeiraphera canadensis), which damages white spruce trees.
with over 200 species worldwide. 2. Chelonus blackburni
 Although several groups of egg parasitoids are commonly employed for biological Taxonomic position
control throughout the world, Trichogramma spp. Have been the most extensively Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Cheloninae
studied. More than a thousand papers have been published on Trichogramma species,
Hosts
and they are the most used biological control agents in the world.
Egg-larval parasitoid of several lepidopterous pests like potato tuber moth, Phthorimaea
 Trichogramma spp. Have less than 10,000 neurons, approaching the size limit of how operculella, cotton bollworms, Hellula undalis, Plutella xylostella, etc. It has been used for
small an insect can be, determined by how few neurons they can fit in their central the biological suppression of P. operculella in Maharashtra, Earias vittella (Fabricius) in
nervous systems, yet exhibiting a complex behavior to sustain their lives. Karnataka, E. insulana Stoll. (=E. fabia) in Maharashtra, Pecinophora
Identification gossypiella (Saunders) in Maharashtra and Helicoverpa armigera (Huebner) on cotton and
NAVALE AKSHAY Mo. 8390996493 Page 61 NAVALE AKSHAY Mo. 8390996493 Page 62
other host plants in many states. It is becoming an important component of IPM systems on  A DNA analysis showed that the genus is paraphyletic, that its subgenera and other
potato, cotton, etc. defined groups are not all valid on a molecular basis, and that revising it into informal
groups would be more practical.
Mass production
 Other authors still divide the genus into subgenera using morphological characters to
This parasitoid is commonly mass produced on the standard laboratory host, Corcyra
make identification easier.
cephalonica (Stainton) and the potato tuber moth, Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller). It could
Species Include
also be multiplied successfully on Achroia grisella (Fabricius) and Spodoptera
Bracon acrobasidis Bracon agathymi Bracon americanus Bracon analcidis Bracon
exigua (Huebner). Detailed production and release procedures are outlined in Singh
(1994a,b). angelesius Bracon apicatus Bracon argutator Bracon bembeciae Bracon brachyurus
Bracon brevicornis
Field release
The following release dosages are often adopted, depending on the pest.
 Potato tuber moth: Two releases @50,000 adults/ release in the field and 5 adults/kg 5. Gonious nephantidis
potatoes in godowns. Hosts
 Cotton bollworms: 50,000 adults/ week, first release coinciding with sighting of eggs in Goniozus nephantidis is a gregarious larval ectoparasitoid of the coconut black-headed
the field. caterpillar, Opisina arenosella Walker (=Nephantis serinopa Meyrick) (Lepidoptera:
 Helicoverpa armigera at weekly intervals, first release coinciding with sighting of eggs in Xylorictidae). It is apparently host-specific, but may have a broader host range. Remadevi et
the field. al. (1996) reported Anigraea albomaculata as an alternate host. Krombein (1996), after
examining a paratype from Tamil Nadu, India, bearing the label ‘par. On cotton bolls’, has
3. Cotesia (Apanteles) sp. also suggested this possibility.
A parasitoid identified as Omphale metallicus Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) attacks Field Application
sweetpotato leafminer. In Hawaii this parasitoid is thought to be a significant mortality The adults are released either in the crown region of coconut palms or on the trunk,
factor; nevertheless, leafminer can be a serious problem in the absence of preferably early in the season before the build up of O. arenosella. Usually, releases of G.
insecticides. Apanteles bedelliae was introduced to Hawaii to aid in suppression of nephantidis are recommended as part of the following package: 20.5% of G. nephantidis,
sweetpotato leafminer, and is reported to be effective (Zimmerman 49.4% of Elasmus nephantidis (pre-pupal parasitoid) and 31.9% of Brachymeria
4. Bracon sp. nephantidis (pupal parasitoid). Four releases of G. nephantidis @10/palm are recommended
to get good control.
 Bracon is a genus of wasps in the Braconidae, a family of parasitoid wasps.
 There are several hundred described species but there are thousands still undescribed. 6. Campoleties chloridae
 The genus is cosmopolitan, distributed throughout the world, with most of the described Hosts
species occurring in the Palearctic ecozone. Larval parasitoid of Noctuidae, particularly Helicoverpa armigera (Huebner)
 These wasps are mostly ectoparasitoids, with the larvae developing on the outside of the and Spodoptera litura (F.). It is a key parasitoid of the early-instar larvae of H.
body of the host. armigera throughout India. Its numbers in nature appear to have come down drastically in
 Recorded Hostsin clued the larvae of many species of lepidopterans, beetles, flies, recent years, possibly due to indiscriminate use of insecticides and other factors.
hymonopterans, and true bugs. Field Application
 The recommended dosage is 15000 adults / hectare. One to three releases are necessary
They are idiobionts, halting the development of the host when they lay eggs on its body.
Some Bracon wasps are specific to one host species, and some are known to utilize many depending on the population density of young larvae in the field. Field utilization of this
different hosts. parasitoid is severely limited due to the lack of effective mass production techniques and the
 The eggs of the wasp can be very hardy. highly male-biased sex ratio.
 In one report, Bracon wasps oviposited on tortrix moth larvae, which then
entered privet seeds and were consumed by birds along with the fruit. The wasp eggs Major Predators:
were later excreted and the larvae emerged. 1. Chrysoperla sp.

This large genus has been divided into several subgenera, some of which are further Chrysoperla carnea, known as the common green lacewing, is an insect in
divided into species-groups. the Chrysopidae family. Although the adults feed on nectar, pollen and aphid honeydew, the
larvae are active predators and feed on aphids and other small insects. It has been used in
the biological control of insect pests on crops.

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Chrysoperla carnea was originally considered to be a single species with feeding also on honeydew. This predator is sensitive to low temperatures and several efforts
a holarctic distribution but it has now been shown to be a complex of many cryptic, sibling had to be made in order to establish it in North America and in the Middle East.
subspecies. These are indistinguishable from each other morphologically but can be
65uxiliary65 by variations in the vibrational songs the insects use to communicate with each Weed Killer:
other, which they especially do during courtship 1. Zygogramma bicolorata
These delicate predators consume aphids, mealybugs, spider mites, leafhopper nymphs,  Zygogramma bicolorata, variously referred to as the Parthenium beetle or Mexican
caterpillar eggs, scales, thrips, and whiteflies. Green lacewing are shipped as eggs packed in beetle, is a species of leaf beetle in the subfamily Chrysomelinae, native to Mexico.
bran. 
Z. bicolorata is a small lead beetle with a brown head, brown and yellow
Release rates: graduated pronotum and yellow elytra marked with characteristic elongated brown
In gardens and greenhouses, release eggs at about 1,000 eggs/200 sq. ft., 10 to 50 thousand stripes. The pattern on the elytra is greatly variable – in a study of 478 beetles, 29
per acre. Once the larvae emerge, they will feed for 1-3 weeks before they become adults. variations on this pattern were identified.
The adults eat only honey, pollen, and nectar, which they need to reproduce. Repeated Economic benefits of biological control by Z. bicoorata
releases may be necessary if the infestation has not been arrested 5-7 days after the larvae  In a conservative estimate, the beetle controlled 200-hectare land infested
have emerged. Availability: year-round. with Parthenium within three years of its release at Jabalpur.
 The cost of most effective herbicide metribuzin for one time application for 200 hectares
2. Australian lady bird beetle- Cryptolaemus montrouzieri
accounted to be about Rs 5,40,000/-.
Biological comtrol agent
 It is also to be noted that during rainy season, about 70-80% Parthenium germinates at
This species has been used as a biological control agent against mealybugs and other scale
different time after commencement of rains.
insects. It was introduced to Western Australia. In California it has been introduced in 1891
by Albert Koebele to control the citrus mealybug. It has also been introduced to New  Hence, at least two applications are required to control Parthenium which might have
Zealand for biocontrol. As biological control agent outside Australia, C. montrouzieri has the costed Rs 10,80,000/- in a season.
common name Mealy bug destroyer.  By fourth year of release, beetle was estimated to control 900 –hectare land that
Host amounted to be worth of Rs 2.43 million of herbicide. If the same area has to be removed
The mealybug ladybird feeds on scale insects (superfamily Coccoidea) from three families, manually or mechanically, it will be about three times more of the herbicide cost.
mealybugs (Pseudococcidae), soft scale (Coccidae) and felted scale (Eriococcidae). It is  Therefore, it was concluded that biological control through Z. bicolorata has great
particularly associated with the Australian golden mealybug, Nipaecoccus potential at least in higher rainfall areas to manage Parthenium.
aurilanatus (Maskell, 1890), found on Bunya pine and Norfolk Island pine (both Araucaria  The economic benefits will increase many-folds, if we take into consideration the indirect
species). The ladybird is reported to feed on aphids and each other. benefits derived in the form of environmental safety and increase in people health.
Economic importance:
Cryptolaemus montrouzieri is an important predator of mealybugs (especially those Number of beetles to be released :
infesting citrus and grapes and occasionally also of soft scales and whiteflies. It controls  Sufficient numbers should be released to increase chances of breeding and thereby
large mealybug populations, but tends to leave the area as these prey become scarce. If later ensuring establishment.
populations of the prey resurge, it becomes necessary to release the predator again. The  One adult was found to bring about defoliation of a single Parthenium plant in 6-8 weeks.
predator is available from several companies.  Therefore, if releases are to be carried out at this rate, about 0.4. to 0.7 million insects will
Morphology: be required per hectare, as in general the weed density varied between 40 to 70 plants per
The female is 3-5 mm long. The head, the prominent thorax and the legs red-brown, square meter.
the elytra is shiny black covered by short hairs and slightly shorter than  In practical, it is neither possible nor necessary to release so many insects as they are
the abdomen. Larvae 7-10 mm in length, covered by white waxy strands, similar to capable of multiplying rapidly.
mealybugs.  Releases of about 500-1000 beetles can bring about establishment and eventual control.
Life history:  Once plants are eaten up in the release spot, the insects migrate in to adjacent areas.
Both larvae and adults of these beetles feed and may completely devour the eggs and other  Taking this into consideration a number of release spots can be selected in a particular
stages of mealybug and other coccids. Total development at 27°C required about 4 weeks place or city, which can act as a focal point.
and several hundred eggs (depending on the prey and its host plant) may be laid. The eggs  More releases mean quicker establishment of the beetle and therefore, better control.
are initially placed among the eggs of the prey, where on the predator feeds voraciously. The  So, do as many releases as affordable during first couple of years of introduction and
calculated threshold of development is around 0°C. The adults may live for several months, make additional releases in isolated areas in future.
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 This method reduces the time for the beetle to build up the population and help the Lecture No. 16
beetles to disperse fast. Mass multiplication and field release techniques of some important parasitoids: T.
 The least affordable approach is to introduce one or two releases into infested area and do chilonis, Chelonus blackburni, Cotesia / Bracon, Goniozus nephantidis, Epiricania
nothing more. melanoleuca
 This method will get a colony started, but will be slow in terms of time and area. 1. T. chilonis:
Trichogranna chilonis (family – Trichogrammatidae, Order – Hymenoptera)
Time of release : Being indigenous parasites, is proved to be one the most potent egg parasitoid for various
 The ideal time for carrying out releases is after the commencement of the rains during Lepidoptera tissues borers.
rainy season. Materials:
 During that time plenty of succulent Parthenium plants are available in nature.  Egg cards: Trichocards, 17.5 × 14 cm sized with 17 × 10cm spaced for glueing host eggs
 There is no benefit in undertaking releases between Novembers to May when they and 5 × 1.75 cm sized 20 pre punched segments.
normally do not breed.  Corcyra eggs Gum Arabic
 However, beetles can be released in dry season also in those sites where sufficient  Camel hair brush/ cotton swab, cotton wool. Test tube
moisture allows the continuous germination of new Parthenium.  Refrigerator Honey
 Such sites may provide suitable microclimate for the beetle to multiply.  Glass/ plastic jars, polythene bags, muslin cloth, rubber bans, scissors, clips.
 UV chamber, fluorescent tube light (40w) Working tables
2. Neochetina spp. Methods:
 Neochetina is a genus of weevils known as water hyacinth weevil which are native  Steps involved in mass rearing are as followes:
to South America.  Take the Corcyra eggs which were already separated from scales and dust particles and
 Neochetina feed almost exclusively on the highly vigorous water hyacinth passed through 15, 30 and 40 mesh sieves. Measure its quality with measuring cylinder to
(Eichhornia spp.). There are at least two species: N. eichhorniae or mottled water assess the numbers.
hyacinth weevil which gets its name from the plant it feeds on and N. bruchi or chevroned  The eggs are exposed to UV rays (30 watt UV tube for 45 minutes at a distance of 2 feets)
water hyacinth weevil which is characterized by a chevron–shaped marking on its back. to prevent hatching during and/ or after parasilization of unparasitized.
 Both weevils have been introduced extensively in countries around the world to help  On backside of the Trichocards fill up the information like name of the parasites species,
control water hyacinth growth which threatens to choke numerous waterways and lakes date of release of parasitoid for parasilization, name of the manufacturing institute,
worldwide. initials of technical person, etc.
 Smear the upper side (Punched) of the cards uniformly with gum Arabic solution using
 Use of biocontrol agents for weed control the soft camel hair brush/ cotton swab. The gum should be so thin that the segment can
Name of the weed Bioagent dry easily.
Cyperus rotundus Bactra verutana  Then the Corcyra eggs are glued/ layered on the card by sprinkling uniformly on the gum
Ludwigia parviflora Haltica cynea (Steel blue beetle) coated card. The cards are followed to dry and overlapped egg layers are removed gently.
Parthenism Zygrogramma bicolarata  The processed egg card is then placed conveniently in plastic bowl or glass tube or in the
hysterophorus polythene bags.
Lantana camara Crocidosema lantana, Teleonnemia scrupulosa  Introduce the duly parasitized egg card in such container or expose these egg card to adult
Opuntia dilleni Dactylopius tomentosus, D. Indicus (cochineal scale insect) females of Trichogamma for 24 hrs. the parasitized and unparasitized eggs in each of the
Eichhornea crassipes Neochetina eichhornea, N. Bruchi (Hyachinth containers should be in the ratio of 1:6 to have optimum parasitization.
weevil) Sameodes alliguttalis (hyancinth moth)  Close the tube with cotton plug and close other containers conveniently. The adult female
Salvinia molesta Crytobagus singularis (weevil) Paulinia acuminate (grass parasitoids emerge from the parasitized blackened eggs of Corcyra after mating.
hopper), Samea mutiplicalis  After 4 days of parasitization, brush out all the host larvae if any hatched from
Alternanthera Agasides hygrophilla (flea beetle) Amynothrips andersoni unparasitized eggs, as these larvae may destroy parasitized eggs. The parasitoids
philoxaroides complete its life cycle mostly within 7-8 days.
Tribulus terrestris Microlarinus lypriformis, M. lareynii  The parasitized eggs of Corcyra start changing their color from creamy white to blackish
Solanum elaegnifolium Frumenta nephalomicta due to accumulation of urate granules after 4 days of parasitizaton.

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 Such parasitized egg cards could be stored for about 30-35 days at 100c temperature in 2. Chelonus blackburni:
refrigerator. (Braconidae : Hymenoptera)
Cotton bollworm causes severe losses (40%) in yield of seed cotton. Chelonus blackburni
Use of Trichocards: is a highly potent eggs larval parasitoid of the bolloworms. Method of mass
 After parasitization, 6 days old parasitized cards become ready for shipment/ field releas. multiplication of parasitoid is given below.
 A coat of 10% gum 69uxili is applied on the grids (G1-30) and the eggs are sprinkled Material:
uniformly in a single layer with the aid of a tea strainer.  Rearing unit of Corcyra cephalonica which includes wooden boxes, crushed grains of
 The excess eggs pasted are removed by gently passing a shoe brush over the card after sorghum, egg cards, gum Arabic, Corcyra eggs etc.
sufficient air drying under fan.  Rearing unit of PTM, which include potato tubers, plastic basket, sterilized soil,
 The egg cards are placed into polythene bags of suitable size and the nucleus card puncturing brush, egg sheet of PTM.
of Trichogramma are introduced in it. The easiest way to accomplish this is to place a  Breeding glass jars, muslin cloth, ribber bands, scissor, wide mouth plastic jar.
piece of ‘Tricho egg card’ containing parasitized eggs (i.e. pharate adults) that are ready  Nucleus culture of chelonus blackburni adults.
to yield the adults and to hold them in subdued light for 2 to 3 days. Laboratory host:
 The emerging parasites readily parasitize the fresh eggs. The parasitoid – host ratio is Rice moth, Corcyra cephalonica, potato tuber, moth Phthorimaea, operculella.
adjusted accordingly to 1:6 get effective parasitism. Targeted pests
 The parasitized eggs in the Tricho Card turn back in 3 or 4 days and the adult parasitoids 1. Pink bollworm,
emerge in 8 to 10 days from the date of parasitization. 2. Spotted bollworm
 The parasitized eggs in which the parasitoids in the larval or pupal stage (i.e. before or 3. Potato tuber
after turning black) can be stored in the refrigerator (at 50C) for about 3 weeks without Methods:
any loss in emergence.  A set of 100, 0-24 hr old eggs of Corcyra (not exposed to UV) are pasted to 5 x 5 cm
Field release card. This card containing eggs is exposed to 30 C. blackburnii adults in a 1.5 l
The parasitoids are released in the pharate stage or when few adults begin to emerge from the container.
host egg during the evening hours. The cards are cut into bits neatly along the grids with  The plastic container has windows with plastic mesh for aeration. Two cotton swabs, one
least damage to the eggs and stapled beneath the foliage in the upper canopy level. To soaked in 10% honey solution and the other in drinking water are also placed inside from
maximize the field parasitization it is recommended to release the parasitoids is as many the side opening which is closed tightly with a cloth covered cotton plug.
locations as possible. Recently scientists are beginning to advocate the release of cards @  The egg card after exposing to C. blackburnii for 24 hrs is removed and placed on 500 g
1/5m row length. sterilized cumbu medium. In 30 days time, adults start emerging from the cocoons
Precautions formed in the cumbu medium after completing development on Corcyra larvae.
 Poor quality of mass reared Trichogramma can result in control failures.  The adults live for 25 days and their fecundity is about 400 eggs.
 The artificial conditions of mass rearing can select for genetic changes that reduce the  The parasitoid could also be reared on potato tuber moth (PTM). A set of 1500 egg of
effectiveness of the Trichogramma in the field. laid on a cloth are stapled to a card.
 Such rearing conditions include rearing multiple generations on unnatural host eggs, the  This card containing 0-24 hr old eggs is exposed to 30 C. blackburnii adults. The plastic
absence of plants, crowding and interference, rapid generation time, and failure to container (14 cm x 11 cm) is converted into C. blackburnii rearing unit by cutting
rejuvenate genetic stock. windows and fixing plastic mesh aeration.
 Except for obvious problems such as lack of adult emergence or wing deformities,  Two cotton swabs, one soaked in 50% honey solution and the other in drinking water are
growers and pest consultants cannot detect poor quality Trichogramma prior to release. also placed inside from the side opening which is closed tightly with a cloth covered
 Commercial suppliers are responsible for maintaining desirable characteristics necessary cotton plug.
for good performance in the field.  The PTM egg card after exposing to C. blackburnii for 24 hrs is removed and placed on
 Production colonies should be periodically replaced with individuals from a stock culture punctured potatoes. This provides more entry points for PTM larvae and kept in a similar
maintained on the natural or target host. plastic container as described for exposure to C. blackburnii.
 Suppliers also should assess the per cent host egg parasitization, adult emergence, and the  The bottom of this container is lined with sterilized sand. In 25-27 days time, adults start

sex ratio of emerged adults to be sure they are within acceptable standards. emerging from the cocoons formed in sand at the bottom of the cage or sometimes inside
 Standards for established cultures on Corcyraare 95±5 per cent egg parasitization, 90±5 potatoes after completing development on potatoes.
 The adults live for 23-31 days and their fecundity is about 288-390. Parasitoid host ratio
per cent adult emergence, and a sex ratio of 1 to 1.5 females per male.
of 1:50 should be maintained and the fresh lot of eggs provided every day.

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Field Utilization of Chelonus blackburni potsto 5. Goniozus nephantidis:
The adult parasitoids could directly be released in the field crops or even in stored potatoes  Goniozus nephantidis is the most widely used parasitoid of Opisina arenosella. It is a
as described for earlier parasitoid sturdy gregarious larval or prepupal ectoparasitoid.
Dose: Release of 60,000 adults/he i.e. 15000 adults per week / release and such 4 releases in  The female practices maternal care of eggs and larvae. The host larvae are parasitized
the field crop. In case of stored potatoes release, 2 adults / kg tubers. and the parasitoid even feeds on host body fluid.
Cotton: Release 2 lakhs adult parasitoids / ha / week. Total 6 release starting after 60days of  The parasitoid is also capable of suppressing the population by merely stinging and
planting. paralyzing 1st – 2nd instar larvae.
4. Cotesia / Baracon:  G.nephantidis is the most common and effective parasitoid of late instars caterpillars
 B. brrvicornis is an important gregarious larval ecto-parasitoid of many lepidopterans. of O. arenosella in several parts of the country.
 It is widely distributed and recorded from Antigastra catalaunalis, Adisura  The parasitoid is being mass multiplied and released in Karnataka, Kerala and several
atkinsoni, Earias sp., Helicoverpa armigera,Noorda moringae, Opisina other states.
arenosella, Pectinophora gossypiella, Chilo partellus etc., Method:
 Its natural parasitism is not very high.  The parasitoid is multiplied on Corcyra cephalonica larvae in diffused light.
 However, it paralyses many lepidopteran larvae and some of them never revive. This  A pair of parasitoid is introduced in tube (7.5 x 2.5 cm).
contributes to indirect control.  The adults are provided honey in the form of small droplets on wax coated paper.
Production procedure  After a pre-oviposition period of six days one healthy last instar larva is provided in a
 B. brevicornis is amenable for mass rearing in the laboratory on the alternate vial.
host, Corcyra cephalonica. For small scale culture, glass chimney and the ‘Sandwich’  The larvae parasitized and containing eggs of G. nephantidis are removed regularly from
technique are adequate. the vials till the death of the female.
 About 20 mated females are confined in a glass chimney, covering both sides of the  Such larvae are kept in accordion type strips of paper in plastic boxes which are covered
chimney with muslin sheet held in place with rubber bands. by muslin cloth.
 A cotton swab soaked in 50% honey water solution is stuck to the side of the chimney to  Considering the fecundity as 20-50, the female is capable of parasitizing 6-7 larvae in
serve as food. With many hymenoptera, adult nutrition is of great importance as it three oviposition spells each separated by 4-5 days.
influences sex-ratio.  The life cycle of the parasitoid is completed in 10-14 days (incubation 24-36 hrs, larval
 High protein diet at times improves the sex ratio so that more female progeny are feeding 36-48 hrs, prepupal stage 48-60 hrs and cocoon period 48 to 56 hrs + resting adult
produced. ‘Proteinex’ can be used to produce the desired results. inside the cocoon 108-128 hrs).
 Replacing honey with laevulose or fructose also is beneficial in some cases. Exposure to
sunlight frequently stimulates mating, oogenesis and fertilization of eggs. 6. Epiricania melanoleuca:
 About 10 full grown larvae of Corcyra are placed between two sheets of facial tissue Epiricania melanoleuca is an important ectoparasitod on nymphs and adults of sugarcane
paper and placed over the muslin sheet covering the wider mouth of the chimney. pyrilla Pyrilla perpusilla (Walker). The parasitoid does not multiply in sufficient numbers in
 The tissue is again covered with a sheet of muslin and fastened with a pair of rubber dry period and as the temperature drops to 16C, the females lay eggs in trash for
bands. overwintering. The redistribution of E. melanoleuca for the management of sugarcane pyrilla
 The chimney is then placed with the host larvae facing a window or light source. has proved a notable success in many areas of the country
Females of B. brevicornis are attracted to the host larvae, probe through the muslin and
paralyze the larvae on each of which they lay about 25 eggs per day. Method:
 At the end of 24 hours, the tissue sheets bearing parasitized larvae are removed and held  The initial culture of Epiricania melanoleuca is started by collecting the cocoons of the
in flat plastic containers until the parasitoid grubs hatch, complete development and spin parasitoid from the field.
cocoons.  The cocoons are kept in 5 cm petridishes the bottom of which is lined by filter paper.
 The egg, larval pupal and adult stages are completed in 28-36 hours, 4-7, 3-6 and 15-40  The moths emerge in 5-7 days and mate immediately.
days respectively.  The females readily lay eggs on the filter paper provided. The larvae from these eggs
 The female parasitoid is capable of depositing 150-200 eggs in its life time. Emerging hatch within a week.
adults are again collected for mating and egg laying.  5 day old 100 nymphs / adults of pyrilla and 200-400 freshly emerged larvae of the
 Adults survive up to 15-40 days but egg laying usually tapers off after the first ten days. parasitoid are kept in a glass tube (15 x 5 cm) for 15-30 minutes.
Two day old adults of B. brevicorniscould be stored for 30 days at 50C and 50-60% RH.

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 For further rearing the parasitized individuals are transferred in battery jars where  The sex ratio Male: Female is 1: 0.85.
sugarcane leaves and diet containing 2.5 percent sugar and 2.5 protinules is made  The adult males and females live 41 and 53 days, respectively.
available. Production procedure
 The optimum room temperature for rearing the parasitoid is 27-30Oc. Nylon net field  In mass production, the adults are fed on various types of diets.
cages 3x2x2 m. can also be used for mass multiplication of E. melanoleuca.  The larvae are either reared in plastic tubes or empty injection vials or in groups in large
 Sugarcane or sweet sorghum plants grown inside the cages are infested with laboratory containers or in individual cells.
reared sugarcane pyrilla eggs.  The adults are collected daily and transferred to pneumatic glass troughs or G.I. round
 Once the pyrilla are 5 days old, the newly emerged E. melanoleuca are introduced into of troughs (30 cm x 12 cm).
such cages.  Before allowing the adults, the rearing troughs are wrapped inside with brown sheet
 The cocoons of E. melanoleuca are collected after about a week by cutting the leaflets which act as egg receiving card.
which could then be released in the fields.  About 250 adults (60% females) are allowed into each trough and covered with white
 Efforts are on to multiply E. melanoleuca on semisynthetic diet so that the labour on host nylon or georgette cloth secured by rubber band.
rearing could be saved.  On the cloth outside three bits of foam sponge (2 sq.in) dripped in water is kept.
 Besides an artificial protein rich diet is provided in semisolid paste form in three spots on
the cloth outside.
 This diet consists of one part of yeast, fructose, honey, Proteinex R and water in the ratio
1:1:1:1.
Lecture No. 17  The adults lay eggs on the brown sheet.
Mass multiplication and field release techniques of important predators:  The adults are collected daily and allowed into fresh rearing troughs with fresh food.
Chrysoperla sp., Australian lady bird beetle, Weed predators/killers: Zygogramma  From the old troughs, the brown paper sheets along with Chrysopaeggs are removed.
bicolorata, Neochetina sp.
2. Australian lady bird beetle:
1. Chrysoperla sp:
 montrouzieri has been introduced from Australia for the control of Coccus viridis on
 In India, 65 species of chrysopids belonging to 21 genera have been recorded from
coffee.
various crop ecosystems.
 But the predator has established on many species of mealybugs and green shield scale.
 Some species are distributed widely and are important natural enemies for aphids and
 In the field its practical use for the suppression of mealybugs viz., pink mealy
other soft bodied insects.
bug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus, citrus mealy bug Planococcus citri, tailed mealy
 Amongst them,Chrysoperla carnea is the most common. bug Ferrisia virgata and mealy scale Pulvinaria maxima on citrus, coffee, grapes and
 It has been used in cotton ecosystem for protection from aphids and other soft bodied several other fruit crops and ornamentals has been demonstrated.
insects. C. carnea is now used extensively all over the country.
 Use of C. montrouzieri is the break through in applied classical biological control.
Morphology and Biology
 The coccinellid predator is native of Australia.
 The eggs are stalked and green in colour.
 In 1892, it was introduced into California by Albert Koebele for the control of citrus
 The length of the egg in various species ranges between 0.7 to 2.3 mm and that of the
mealy bugs.
stalk between 2 to 26 mm.
 Following the success, the beetle was introduced into India in 1898 by New Port.
 The eggs are laid singly or in clusters.
 It has given effective control of mealy bugs in fruit crops like citrus, grapes, guava, etc.
 Eggs turn pale whitish and then black before hatching.
 C. montrouzieri is one of the outstanding examples in the biological control history. Its
 Egg period lasts 3-4 days. The larva is white in colour on hatching.
importance is also evident by its growing commercialization in India.
 The larva has 3 instars which are completed in 8-10 days. Method:
 The larva spins a cocoon from which the adult emerges in 5-7 days.  In the laboratory, the life cycle is completed in approximately 30 days.
 Adults on emergence mate repeatedly.  The premating and preoviposition periods are about 5 and 10 days respectively.
 Generally, pre-oviposition period lasts for 3-7 days.  The oviposition is about 10 days.
 Adult females start laying eggs from 5th day onwards and peak egg-laying period is  Eggs are laid from late evening to early morning.
between 9-23 days after emergence.
 They are pale yellowish white, the surface being smooth and shiny.
 The male longevity is 30-35 days and female can even live up to 60 days.  It is oval to cylindrical, both the ends beings smoothly rounded.
 Fecundity is 600-800 eggs/female.
 Incubation period ranges from 5 to 6 days but extended in winter months.
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 Viability of eggs is 90 to 100 per cent.  It can also be bred in open field cages by releasing 1 pair/2 plants .
 The newly hatched grub is sluggish but becomes active after 3 to 4 hours.  Such cages can accommodate around 100 plants. And yield about 300 adults.
 The tiny grub is pale 75uxilia with white lines across the body along intra segmental Field releases;
regions. For inoculative raleases 500 adults of zygogramma bicolarata are released per hectare
 These white lines become prominent after few hours and white wax strands develop after coinciding with the start of monsoon showers. The beetles spread automatically to the
a day. The grub has four larval instars, and the larval stage occupies about 20 days. adjoining fields.
 They feed on all stages of mealy bugs.
 Duration of first, second, third and fourth instar grubs are 3-4, 4, 4-5-7-8 days Lecture No. 18
respectively. Importance species of pollinator and scavengers with their importance
 Grownup grubs are entirely covered with white wax strands. Important Species Pollinators
 When the grub is disturbed, it exudes a yellow fluid from the dorsal surface of the body Pollinators are Bees, Butterflies, Hummingbirds, and other animals which feed from flowers,
for defensive purpose. transferring pollen in the process. Nearly 80% of all flowering plants need pollinators to
 The prepupal period is 2 to 4 days when it suspends feeding activities. transfer pollen in order to produce fruits, seeds and vegetables. One out of every three bites
of food we eat depends on the work of pollinators.
 The pupal period varies from 7 to 9 days.
1. Native Bees – There are 3,500 native bee species in North America and they are the
 The adult spends about one day in the pupal case before it emerges.
most important group of animal pollinators. Native bees are more effective pollinators
 It is covered with a white powder like substance for a day. than non-native honeybees and their body structure plays a role. Some bees pack pollen
 The male could be distinguished from the female by the colouration of first pair of legs. into baskets on their legs. Most native bees are like tiny flying dust mops. Pollen clings to
 The first pair of legs in the case of male is brown and the latter two pairs being black, hairs on their bodies and easily brushes off. In this way, flowers get pollinated more
whereas in the female all the three pairs are black. completely. Native bee behavior can also play a roll in pollination. Unlike honeybees,
 Male to female ratio is 1 : 1. Adults are also known to attack and feed the mealy bugs. native orchard bees are willing to fly when it’s cold and damp. And while honeybees will
 Longevity of adults ranges from 50 to 60 days and the fecundity is about 200-220 eggs. visit a single fruit tree, methodically going from flower to flower, orchard bees fly from
Weed Predators: tree to tree, resulting in the cross-pollination some trees need to set fruit.
1. Zygogramma bicolorata: 2. The Bumble Bee Is the only true social native bee with worker bees to care for the hive.
 Adults and larvae of Z.bicolarata feed on parthenium leaves. Bumble bee species are known to pollinate many important food crops. When other
 The eggs are laid single or in small groups of up to five mostly on the undersurface of the pollinators are inactive due to cold temperatures, bumble bees are able to shiver which
leaves and egg period lasts four five days the early stage larvae feed on the terminal and warms their wings enabling them to fly. Bumble bees also do something called “buzz
75uxiliary buds and move on to the leaf blades as they grow. pollination.” They vibrate their flight muscles at the exact frequency needed to shake
 The full grown larvae enter the soil and pupate ,larval and pupal periods last 10-15 days pollen loose from the plants anthers. Tomatoes for example, don’t really need bees
and 8-10 days, respectively. because they self-pollinate but when tomatoes get regular visits from “buzz pollinators”,
 Each female is capable of laying up to 1,786 eggs (mean 836.13). they produce larger fruit and more of it. Bumble bees are also more effective than
Production procedure: honeybees at pollinating crops grown in greenhouses. A mated queen is the only bee in
 10 pairs of adults (male and female)is placed on bouquets of parthenium leaves in the colony to survive over winter. She emerges from hibernation each spring to start a
14×12cm transparent plastic container. new hive.
 After observance of egg laying such leaves are replaced and fresh bouquets in egg laying 3. Solitary native bees are also important pollinators. They include squash bees whose
jars can be repeated for one month. pollination includes cucumbers, melons, and squashes; mason bees who pollinate many
 Small parthenium plants are removed from soil and transplanted in 45×60×90cm cages orchard crops such as apples; green sweat bees who pollinate many flowers including
with zinc sheet trays at bottom. strawberry; and mining bees who are generalists, pollinating many plants. Solitary bees
 These trays are filled with soil and parthenium plants are transplanted and water daily. are not aggressive since they have no hive to defend. They do not sting. 70% of solitary
Once plants start growing, leaves with egg of Z.bicolarata are placed over theme. bees nest in the ground. Some species nest in holes excavated by beetles in logs and snags
or in hollow plant stems.
 Around 100-150 eggs can be transferred in one such cage. On hatching leaves and pupate
4. European Honeybees are managed by beekeepers in specialized hive boxes. They were
in soil. In such process they consume all plants inside cages.
imported from Europe in the early 1600’s to pollinate introduced crops and for honey and
 Generally ration is 10-15grubs to one plant. This way around 15-20 small plants are
beeswax. Farmers depend on honeybees to pollinate many food crops from pumpkins to
provided in each cage.
 Such cages yield around 100-125 adults.
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 oranges and are also relied upon for honey. Honeybees are the only bee to produce and  Furthermore, the decline of vulture populations in India has been linked to the increased
store large quantities of honey. rates of anthrax in humans due to the handling and ingestion of infected livestock
5. Other Important Pollinators – carcasses.
Wasps, Butterflies, Moths, Flies, Beetles, Hummingbirds and even bats contribute to the  An increase of disease transmission has been observed in mammalian scavengers in
pollination of a variety of plants. Butterflies, while not as efficient as bees, flutter from Kenya due to the decrease in vulture populations in the area, as the decrease in vulture
flower to flower seeking nectar while carrying pollen. They like bright red, orange, yellow, populations resulted in an increase of the number of mammalian scavengers at a given
and purple flowers. Moths take over pollination on the night shift, seeking fragrant night carcass along with the time spent at a carcass.
bloomers in white or pale colors to reflect moonlight. For every butterfly you see pollinating Scavengers:
during the day, 19 moths are actively pollinating at night. Flies that sport stripes as bee Terrestrial Vertebrates
mimics to fool predators are not like our common housefly pest. They prefer less showy • Vultures & Buzzards, like Bearded, White-Backed, & Turkey Vultures
flowers that other pollinators pass by. Among these “respectable” flies are the hoverfly, • Ravens & Crows, like Jungle, Torresian, & American Crows; Australian Ravens
flower fly and midge. After bees, flies are the second most important pollinator of many • Seagulls
flowers. Beetles pollinate 52 plant species in North America. They are very beneficial insects • Marabou Storks
for both pollination and for controlling pest insects • Magpies
Importance of Scavengers: • California Condors
• Bald Eagles
 Scavengers play a fundamental role in the environment through the removal of decaying • Spotted Tail Quolls
organisms, serving as a natural sanitation service. • Spotted Hyenas & Striped Hyenas
 While microscopic and invertebrate decomposers break down dead organisms into simple • Dingos
organic matter which are used by nearby autotrophs, scavengers help conserve energy and • Raccoons
nutrients obtained from carrion within the upper trophic levels, and are able to disperse • Opossums
the energy and nutrients farther away from the site of the carrion than decomposers. • Mice & Rats
 Scavenging unites animals which normally would not come into contact, and results in the • Hedgehogs
formation of highly structured and complex communities which engage in nonrandom • Coyotes & Jackals, such as Golden Jackals
interactions. • Red Foxes
 Scavenging communities function in the redistribution of energy obtained from carcasses • Lions
and reducing diseases associated with decomposition. • Grey Wolves
 Oftentimes, scavenger communities differ in consistency due to carcass size and carcass • Wolverines
types, as well as by seasonal effects as consequence of differing invertebrate and • Leopards
microbial activity. • Black Bears
 Competition for carrion results in the inclusion or exclusion of certain scavengers from • Polar Bears
access to carrion, shaping the scavenger community. • Alaskan Brown Bears
 When carrion decomposes at a slower rate during cooler seasons, competitions between • Grizzly Bears
scavengers decrease, while the number of scavenger species present increases. • Tasmanian Devils
 Alterations in scavenging communities may result in drastic changes to the scavenging • Monitors, such as Lace Monitors & Gould’s Goanna
community in general, reduce ecosystem services and have detrimental effects on animal Terrestrial Invertebrates
and humans. • Flies, such as House Flies, Horse Flies, Blow Flies
 The reintroduction of gray wolves (Canis lupus) into Yellowstone National Park in the • Ants, such as Gravel Ants & Army Ants
United States caused drastic changes to the prevalent scavenging community, resulting in • Several species of Beetles, including Burying Beetles & Water Beetles
the provision of carrion to many mammalian and avian species. • Roaches, such as Cockroaches
 Likewise, the reduction of vulture species in India lead to the increase of opportunistic • Termites
species such as feral dogs and rats. • Yellowjackets
 The presence of both species at carcasses resulted in the increase of diseases such as • Centipedes & Millipedes
rabies and bubonic plague in wildlife and livestock, as feral dogs and rats are transmitters Aquatic Vertebrates
of such diseases. • Great White Sharks

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• Eels
• Remoras
Aquatic Invertebrates
• Crabs, including Alaskan King Crabs
• Lobsters
• Sea Slugs
• Snails
• Prawns
Many animals which are thought of as predators (e.g. Lions, Polar Bears, Great White
Sharks) will take opportunity to scavenge on carrion.

NAVALE AKSHAY
Mo. 8390996493

……..BEST LUCK……..

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