Interspecific hybridization between Cajanus cajan and Cajanus cajanifolius

Interspecific hybridization between five Canajus cajan genotypes viz., ICPL 87, CORG 9302, CORG 5, TAT 93-47 and AS 46 and the wild species C. cajanifolius was attempted. Successful pod set was observed in direct crosses involvingC. cajan as ovule parent and C. cajanifolius as pollen parent while the reciprocal crosses failed to set pods. The only survivingF1 of ICPL 87 × C. cajanifolius was vigorous in growth and exhibited intermediate leaf and flower morphology with predominanceof C. cajanifolius plant type. Chromosome pairing was rather irregular in the F1 hybrid with loose pairing, univalents,quadrivalents and abnormalities like laggards, stickiness, bridges, precocious separation and non-synchronization of thegenomes. Pollen fertility of the hybrid was low and occurrence of triads was noticed. The partial homology coupled with seedset suggested the possibility of incorporating traits of economic importance such as pest resistance from C. cajanifolius intoC. cajan

Metrocoris sikkimensis sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Gerridae) from northeastern India, with a key to species of the compar group occurring in India

Basu, Srimoyee, Chandra, Kailash, Venkatesan, Thiruvengadam (2018): Metrocoris sikkimensis sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Gerridae) from northeastern India, with a key to species of the compar group occurring in India. Zootaxa 4471 (2): 369-374, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4471.2.

Morphological and Molecular Characterization of Reared Parasitoid Wasps of the Genus Glyptapanteles Ashmead 1904 (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Microgastrinae) Associated with Lepidoptera in India.

Glyptapanteles Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Microgastrinae) is a cosmopolitan group of hyperdiverse parasitic wasps. The genus remains taxonomically challenging in India due to its highly speciose nature, morphological similarity amongst species and negligible host records. The Indian fauna is one of the most diverse and also the least studied. The present study is based on 60 populations reared from 35 host species, 100+ individual caterpillar rearings (1100 wasp specimens pinned and 2000 in alcohol) and from 12 different geographical locations of the country (11 states and one Union territory) that represent 26 provisional Glyptapanteles species within 8 species-groups. Out of 60 populations, phylogenetic analyses were performed on 38 based on mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) nucleotide sequences. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference methods displayed three and four major discrete Glyptapanteles clades, respectively. In clade A very few Indian species were grouped along with Neotropical and Thailand species. The other clades B and C grouped the majority of the Indian species and showed considerable host specificity in both the trees. All parasitic wasp species were gregarious in nature, except for two populations. Three different sets of data (morphology, host records, and COI) were integrated in order to generate accurate boundaries between species/species-groups. Illustrations of all parasitized caterpillars/cocoons and 42 habitus views of Glyptapanteles spp., distributional information, and GenBank accession numbers, are presented. The present study, perhaps the most comprehensive done to date in India, suggests the presence of several additional Glyptapanteles species, which were previously unrecognized

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Not AvailablePink mealybug Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) is a destructive pest of agricultural and horticultural crops. Insecticides are the major tool used to control M. hirsutus. The present study was conducted to evaluate resistance to the commonly used insecticides acephate, dichlorvos, imidacloprid and buprofezin in M. hirsutus collected from seven different geographical locations of mulberry and vineyards in India. Detoxifying enzymes, namely esterase, glutathione S transferase (GST) and cytochrome P-450 (cyt-P450), were quantified in populations. One population from Erode showed a low level of resistance to acephate (resistance ratio [RR] 10.3-fold), one from Salem showed a low level of resistance to dichlorvos (resistance ratio [RR] 13.7-fold), one from Sangli showed a very low level of resistance to imidacloprid (RR 10.2-fold), and one from Chikkaballapur showed a low level of resistance to buprofezin (RR 14.8-fold). Activity ratios for detoxifying enzymes ranged from 1.8- to 4.9-fold for GST, 1.8- to 3.7-fold for esterase and 1.9- to 2.4-fold for cyt-P450. Furthermore, organophosphate resistance and activity of enzymes (esterase, GST and cyt-P450) were positively correlated. To contain the evolution of resistance to M. hirsutus infestation, buprofezin and imidacloprid could be used, supplemented with biointensive integrated management strategies and regular resistance monitoring programs.Not Availabl

Detection of insecticide resistance in field populations of citrus mealybug Planococcus citri (Risso) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae)

435-442Planococcus citri (Risso) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), commonly called citrus mealybug, is a major sporadic pest and found to cause severe yield loss in many fruit crops. Mealybugs are considered “hard to kill pests” using insecticides. In order to study the evolution of insecticide resistance in P. citri, we collected mealybugs from four major fruit crops and bioassay was carried out against four commonly used insecticides belonging to different groups followed by quantification of enzymes. The mortality study revealed evolution of very low to low level of resistance with resistance ratio(RR) ranging from 6.87-14.58-fold (acephate), 7.46-16.39-fold (dichlorvos), 2.00-9.50-fold (imidacloprid) and 9.83-12.75-fold (buprofezin). Elevated levels of detoxifying enzymes were observed in all field collected populations along with the evidence of significant positive correlation between insecticides (OP, imidacloprid and buprofezin) and enzymes (esterase, MFO and GST). The high selection pressure of acephate, dichlorvos and buprofezin in the field collected population could be attributed to the evolution of low level resistance resulting in control failure. Hence, it is suggested to use imidacloprid supplemented with biocontrol strategies for the management of P. citri.</em

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Not AvailableMetrocoris sikkimensis sp. nov. is described from Sikkim, northeastern India, compared with similar species, included in an identification key and its geographical distribution is mapped. This species is assigned to the Metrocoris compar group based on the venter of the body entirely blackish and the male fore femur slender and unarmed. It can be distinguished from other species of the group based on the dark mesosternum without yellow markings, by the apically curved male paramere without setae, and by the structure of male endosomal sclerites.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableCotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a serious pest of several crops throughout the world, representing millions of United States of America dollars worth of damage. This pest can adapt to various cropping systems in a wide geographical range and has high migratory potential. It features high fecundity and can develop resistance to almost all insecticides used for its management. Several investigations to develop microsatellite markers for H. armigera have not been successful because of the paucity of microsatellites in the lepidopteran genome. As well, collections of H. armigera from cotton fields of southern and western India were not yet studied for molecular genetic diversity. The current study aimed to screen publicly available expressed sequence tag resources for simple sequence repeats and assess their potential as DNA markers for assessment of gene flow between collections of southern and western India. We identified 30 polymorphic microsatellites for potential use in diversity analysis of H. armigera collections. Genetic diversity analysis revealed that the collections were widely diverse with population differentiation index (F st) of 0.17. Furthermore, gene flow analysis revealed a mean frequency of private alleles of 11% within the collections. The microsatellite resources we developed could be widely used for molecular diversity or population genetic research involving this important pest of cotton and food crops.Not Availabl

Automontage images of <i>Glyptapanteles creatonoti</i> (Viereck).

<p>Female in dorsal view (A), mesosoma with metasoma in part (B) metasoma along with mesosoma in part (C), wings (D).</p

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Not AvailableNative bees play a vital role in the pollination of different flora in an ecosystem. But the natural history of most native bee species is unknown, and knowledge about natural history helps in understanding their social evolution, and further protecting and conserving the bee species. Braunsapis mixta (Smith) is a common stem-nesting bee and a widespread endemic species of Southern Asia. This study aimed to record the nesting biology, development and natural enemies of B. mixta, which is an important pollinator of cashew. Nests of B. mixta were found in the dried sticks and pruned cut ends of cashew stems. A total of 442 nests were collected, of which 64% of the active nests were single-adult nests and 20% were of two adults. Eggs were found at the interior end, followed by larvae at varied developmental stages and pupae. The maximum number of nest occupants in a nest was 41, in which four were adults and a maximum of 11 adults were recorded in a single nest. The maximum number of females found in a nest was nine. A significant positive correlation was obtained between the number of adults and their immature stages. Egg production and brood maturation occurred throughout the year. The mean incubation period of eggs was 5.32 days. Rearing of larvae could not be achieved in the laboratory. The pupal period lasted for 11–14 days. The parasitoids recorded on B. mixta include Neochalcis breviceps and Diomorus nr. indicus.Not Availabl