Kumar, B Suresh

Radhakrishnan, B

Smitha, S

Srikumar, K k

English

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Diversity of mantids in tea plantation221doi.org/10.25081/jpc.2018.v46.i3.2039Journal of Plantation Crops, 2018, 46(3): 221-223Short Scientific ReportDiversity of mantids in tea plantationK.K. Srikumar1, S. Smitha, B. Suresh Kumar and B. RadhakrishnanUPASI Tea Research Foundation, Tea Research Institute, Valparai-642 127, Tamil Nadu, India1AAA Research & Development RAPP Ltd. Pangalan Kerinci - 28312, Indonesia(Manuscript Received: 22-11-2017, Revised: 19-06-2018, Accepted: 21-10-2018)Tea (Camellia sinensis), is an important perennial plantation crop mainly grown as monoculture in India. Among the pests that attack tea plants, tea mosquito bug (TMB), Helopeltis theivora Waterhouse (Hemiptera: Miridae) is an important pest and its incidence is more in young plants and bushes. Infestation by TMB leads to deforming and drying of shoots and heavy crop loss (Radhakrishnan and Srikumar, 2015). In tea fields, H. theivora is attacked by several natural enemies such as coccinellids, neuropterans, spiders, reduviids and syrphids (Muraleedharan and Radhakrishnan, 1986; Muraleedharan et al., 2001). To prevent the indiscriminate use of pesticides in tea planations, different cultural and bio-control techniques are being tested. Predators like praying mantids are possible entrant in biological control of insect pests (Vanitha et al., 2016) and play a major role in managing pests in tea ecosystem. The mantid fauna of India (Insecta: Mantodea) was described by Mukherjee et al. (2012). Being important predators, the diversity of praying mantids in tea plantations were neglected, but for scattered publications (Das et al., 2015) and hence, the current study. *Corresponding Author: sreeku08@gmail.comRandom survey was undertaken during the period of June 2014 to July 2017 at the UPASI Tea Research Foundation Experimental Farm and tea plantations of Anamalais, Coimbatore. Mantids were collected by hand-picking method. Collections were made from tea plantations including bush base, canopy of tea bushes and common weed plants in vicinity. Mantids were wrapped in polythene bags, and tightly closed with rubber bands, before brought to the laboratory. The identification of the collected mantids was done at Department of Zoology, Modern College, Pune.During the survey, eight species of praying mantids belonging to seven genus and four families were recorded (Fig.1). Mantids exhibited seasonal variation in their occurrence. Most of the mantid species were recorded during monsoon and winter seasons (Table 1). Among the eight species, Hierodula membranacea Burmeister was dominant in mantids surveyed. Under confined condition, H. membranacea consumed 125.6 ± 8.4 H. theivora adults in a day (Fig. 2). Further in-depth studies focusing on the biological parameters, seasonality and predatory efficacy are necessary to gauge the role played by praying mantid as bio-control agent in tea plantations.Table 1. Praying mantis species recorded in tea plantations     Family Species (Nos.) Months Acromantis insularis Giglio-Tos (2) June Hierodula membranacea  Burmeister (17) JuneMantidae Hierodula sp. (9) August Tenodera aridifolia Stoll (1) December Statilia maculate Thunberg (2) JulyLiturgusidae Humertiella ceylonica Saussure (5) AprilIridopterygidae Eomantis guttatipennis Stal (3) NovemberHymenopodidae Euantissa pulchra Fabricius (7) FebruarySrikumar et al.222Fig. 1. Different species of praying mantis recorded in tea plantations1. Hierodula membranacea4. Statilia maculate7. Tenodera aridifolia2. Hierodula sp.5. Eomantis guttatipennis8. Acromantis insularis3. Humertiella ceylonica6. Euantissa pulchraAcknowledgementThe authors are obliged to Dr. H. V. Ghate, Department of Zoology, Modern College of Pune, Maharashtra for identifying the mantid species, providing literature and reviewing the manuscript.ReferencesDas, S., Roy, S. and Mukhopadhyay, A. 2015. Diversity of arthropod natural enemies in the tea plantations of North Bengal with emphasis on their association with tea pests. Current Science 99(10): 1457-1463. Mukherjee, T.K., Hazra, A.K. and Ghosh, A.K.  2012. The mantid fauna of India (Insecta: Mantodea). Oriental Insects 29: 185-358.Fig. 2. Hierodula membranacea feeding on Helopeltis theivora in laboratoryDiversity of mantids in tea plantation223Radhakrishnan, B. and Srikumar, K.K. 2015. Sex pheromone; A new prospective in management of tea mosquito bug in tea. Planters Chronicle 111: 5-10.Vanitha, K., Bhat, P.S., Raviprasad, T.N. and Srikumar, K.K. 2016. Biology and behaviour of Ephestiasula pictipes (Wood-Mason) (Hymenopodidae: Mantodea) under captive breeding. International Journal of Pest Management. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09670874.2016.1195026.Muraleedharan, N. and Radhakrishnan, B. 1986. Syrphid predators of the tea plant, Toxoptera aurantii (Boyer de Fonscolombe), in the Anamallais. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 56(4): 307.Muraleedharan, N., Selvasundaram, R. and Radhakrishnan, B. 2001. Parasitoids and predators of tea pests in India. Journal of Plantation Crops 29(2): 1-10.

Diversity of mantids in tea plantation

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Diversity of mantids in tea plantation

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