Insect Pests of Fruit, Plantation, Medicinal & Aromatic Crops (2+1)

1. Tea mosquito bug - Helopeltis antonii Sign. (Miridae: Hemiptea)

Damage

• The nymphs and adults feed on the young leaves, buds and tender shoots the tissues around the feeding punctures die and dry up due to toxic action of saliva injected.
• It results the water soaked lesions followed by brownish spots at the feeding site.
• Resin exudes from the feeding puncture. Blossom or inflorescence blight and die back symptoms appear.
• The terminal shoots are also dried. Shedding of flowers and nut also takes place.
Bionomics

• The adult is a reddish brown bug with red thorax and black and white abdomen.
• The eggs are inserted into the epidermis of tender shoots, axis of inflorescence, the buds and midribs.
• The eggs are sausage shaped, 2 mm long, slightly covered with a pair of breathing filaments which project out its operculum.
• The egg period is 5 to 7 days.
  
• Nymphal period is 15 days.
• The reddish brown and ant like nymphs undergoes five instars.
• The life cycle is completed in 22 days.
  
• This pest attacks guava, cocoa, pepper, cinchona, tamarind, mango, neem, cotton and avocado.
Management

• Remove dead wood and criss cross branches in cashew plantations atleast once in two to three years will help in effective spraying of insecticides against the pest.
• Collect and destroy damaged fruits.
• Use light trap at 1/ha to monitor the activity of moths.
• Ensure clean cultivation as weed plants serve as alternate hosts.
• Spray hostothioan at 2 ml / litre or carbaryl 50 WP 2 g /litre or malathion 50 EC at 1ml/litre or neem oil 3 % spraying should be done in early morning or late evenings, at least four times at 21 days interval during fruiting season.