Comparative studies on biology of <i>Chelonus blackburni</i> (Cameron) (<i>Hymenoptera:Braconidae</i>) on <i>Phthorimaea operculella</i> (Zeller) and <i>Corcyra cephalonica</i> (Stainton) under laboratory conditions

Abstract

&lt;em&gt;Chelonus blackburni&lt;/em&gt; (Cameron) that parasitizes eggs of potato tuber moth is widely distributed and occurs commonly in potato fields throughout the country. Studies on its biology and ovipositional performance were carried out on both hosts i.e. &lt;em&gt;Phthorimaea operculella&lt;/em&gt; and &lt;em&gt;Corcyra cephalonica&lt;/em&gt; in laboratory conditions. Average number of eggs laid per female was found to be 210.9 ± 16.62 on &lt;em&gt;P. operculella&lt;/em&gt; and 118.4 ± 7.49 on &lt;em&gt;C. cephalonica&lt;/em&gt;. Incubation period of the parasitoid on &lt;em&gt;P. operculella&lt;/em&gt; was 24.5 ± 1.62 hours on an average, while on &lt;em&gt;C. cephalonica&lt;/em&gt;, it was found as 25.2 ± 1.33 hours. Total larval duration was 14.5 days and 19.2 days on &lt;em&gt;P. operculella&lt;/em&gt; and &lt;em&gt;C. cephalonica&lt;/em&gt;, respectively. Pupal period was 10.6 ± 0.70 days on &lt;em&gt;P. operculella&lt;/em&gt;, whereas it was slightly higher on &lt;em&gt;C. cephalonica&lt;/em&gt; (13 ± 0.57 days). The average life span was observed to be 6.8 days on &lt;em&gt;P. operculella&lt;/em&gt; and 7.7 days on &lt;em&gt;C. cephalonica&lt;/em&gt;.

Insect species dynamics and associated losses in on-farm stored sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) seeds in major sesame growing areas in Ethiopia

“…Although there were no reports to date indicating either of the insect species identified in stored sesame seeds in Ethiopia, our current findings were consistent with earlier research that suggested that C. cephalonica was noted as a significant sesame storage pest in India (Babu et al 2020;Dilipsundar et al 2019). Similar to this, C. cephalonica was also identified as a significant insect pest of many stored products in the tropics, affecting a variety of commodities, including oil seeds like groundnuts, cotton seeds, flax seeds, and oil-cakes (Bhandari et al 2014;Debbarma et al 2021;Vincent et al 2021). Typically, the destructive larval stage of C. cephalonica prefers to infest cracked or damaged grains, where it feeds beneath the formed silken threads, which over time gather density and bulk up the contaminated items (Chaudhuri and Senapati 2017).…”