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

1. Milk weed grasshopper

1. Milk weed grasshopper - Poecilocerus pictus F. (Acrididae: Orthoptera)

Damage

• Both nymphs and adults feed on leaf voraciously and cause severe defoliation.
• In the case of severe infestation, it feeds on the bark of the plant.
Bionomics

• The female thrusts its abdomen deep into the soil and lay eggs to a depth of 18-20 cm.
• A single female lays about 145-170 eggs.
• The eggs are elongate and orange in colour.
• The eggs are covered by frothy secretion, which hardens later on.
• The egg period is 30 days. The nymphal period is 60 days.
• It becomes adult in another 75 days.