Effect of food plants on the growth rate and survivability of Hieroglyphus banian(Fabricius)(Orthoptera: Acridoidea), a major paddy pest in India.

Abstract

Hieroglyphus banian (Fabricius) is a major agricultural pest of paddy fields in tropical and subtropical countries. Although, this species consumes a wide variety of food plants from different families, the families Poaceae and Cyperaceae were found to be the most preferred. Among plants belonging to these two families, Cynodon dactylon (Pers.), Oryza sativa (Lin.) and Cyperus kyllingia (Endl.) were highly suitable for H. banian growth. The growth rate of H. banian, in terms of the percentage of weight gain after feeding for 8 and 16-d after fledgling (0-d adult), was maximum (38.7% and 76%, respectively) when C. dactylon was used as their food and minimum (14.9% and 30.1%, respectively) when C. kyllingia was used, whereas, it was moderate (26% and 48%, respectively) on O. sativa. The approximate digestibility (AD) of C. dactylon was in the range of 87.9-89.5%, followed by O. sativa (86.5-88.6%) and C. kyllingia (85.5-86.9%). The efficiency of conversion of digested food to body tissue (ECD) varied from 1.7-2.2% after 8 d, whereas, it increased to 3.3-9.1% after 16 d from fledgling. The efficiency of conversion of ingested food to body tissue (ECI) varied from 1.4-2.0% after an 8 d period and it also increased to 2.9-4.1% after 16 d. The survivability of H. banian fed on these plants did not differ remarkably, although their survivability was higher on C. dactylon followed by O. sativa and C. kyllingia at any stage of their lifetime.

Effect of 13 single and eight mixed host plant diets on survival, post‐embryonic development and morphology of variegated grasshopper in laboratory

“…This survival rate decreased with the advancement of age. Low survivability may partly be attributed to its low digestibility (Das et al 2002). Our results showed that C. odorata (Asteraceae) and C. retura (Papilionaceae), which produce PAs, were worse for Z. variegatus survivability than other plants such as M. esculenta which does not contain PAs and which showed greater survivability.…”

“…This survival rate decreased with the advancement of age. Low survivability may partly be attributed to its low digestibility (Das et al. 2002).…”

Evolutionarily conserved anatomical and physiological properties of olfactory pathway till fourth order neurons in a species of grasshopper(Hieroglyphus banian)

“…H. banian is a species endemic to the Indian subcontinent and Vietnam whereas S. americana is endemic to North America (Cigliano et al 2018). They differ in their food preferences too (Capinera 1993; Squitier and Capinera 1996; Das et al 2002; Mandal et al 2007). Considering the varying habitats which they occupy and the differences in host plant preferences, we expected that since they would encounter and solve dissimilar ecological problems during their life histories, it would give rise to some variability in their olfactory circuit in terms of morphology or physiology.…”

Evolutionarily conserved anatomical and physiological properties of olfactory pathway through fourth-order neurons in a species of grasshopper (Hieroglyphus banian)

“…Variation in lifestyle and habitat may not necessarily translate into variation in the olfactory circuit H. banian is a species endemic to the Indian subcontinent and Vietnam whereas S. americana is endemic to North America (Cigliano et al 2018). They differ in their food preferences too (Capinera 1993;Squitier and Capinera 1996;Das et al 2002;Mandal et al 2007). Considering the varying habitats which they occupy and the differences in host plant preferences, we expected that since they would encounter and solve dissimilar ecological problems during their life histories, it would give rise to some variability in their olfactory circuit in terms of morphology or physiology.…”

“…They are endemic to different habitats, H. banian is native to the Indian subcontinent and Vietnam and S. americana to North America (Cigliano et al 2018) and they differ in their major host plant preferences as well. H. banian is a major pest of paddy apart from consuming a wide variety of food plants from Poaceae and Cyperaceae families (Das et al 2002;Mandal et al 2007). On the other hand, S. americana feeds on citrus plants, corn, soybean, bean and several species of grasses (Capinera 1993;Squitier and Capinera 1996).…”