Insect Pests of Vegetable, Ornamental and Spice Crops (2+1)

Brinjal lace wing bug, Hadda beetles and Egg plant leaf roller

3. Brinjal lace wing bug

Common name: Brinjal lace wing bug

Family: Tingidae

Order: Hemiptera

Important species:

• Urentius sentis
• U. hystricellus

Distribution: North western parts of India.

Host range: Brinjal

Damage:

• Both adults and nymphs cause the damage by sucking the cell sap from leaves.
• Infested leaves show yellowish spots
• Excreta impart mottled appearance to the infested leaves.
• Young nymphs feed gregariously on the lower surface of the leaves
• Inject some toxic saliva.
• Under severe infestation upto 50% of the crop may be destroyed.

Identification:

• Nymphs are about 2 mm, pale, stoutly built with prominent spines.
• Adults are about 3 mm, straw coloured dorsally and dark brown to black ventrally.
• Females are oval and males are elongated.
• Pronotum and elytra are reticulated
• Coastal area is hyaline with strong spines on the outer margins.
• Hind wings are whitish and transparent

Life cycle:

• Each female lays 35-44 eggs
• Adult longevity is 30-40 days
• The eggs hatch in 3-12 days
• Nymphs pass through 5 instars
• Nymphal period is 10-23 days.
• 8 overlapping generations in a year

Salient features:

• The pest is active from April to October
• Hibernates as an adult in cracks and crevices in the soil
• Eggs are laid singly in the tissue on the under side of the leaves
• Young nymphs fed gregariously
• The older nymphs feed individually
• Nymphs pass through 5 instars

Management:

• Apply dimethoate 30EC @ 1L /625L / ha

4. Hadda beetles

Described under the insect pests of tomato

5. Egg plant leaf roller

Common name: Egg plant leaf roller

Scientific name: Antoba (Eublemma) olivacea

Family: Noctuidae

Order: Lepidoptera

Host range: Brinjal, wild solanaceous plants.

Damage:

• Caterpillars fold leaves from tip down ward and feed within by scrapping the green matter
• Folded leaves wither and dry.
• Caterpillars may also bore into green shoots
• Withering of entire plant.

Identification:

• Full grown caterpillars are about 20 mm long, stout, purple, brown in colour and ornamented with yellow spots and hairs
• Moths are medium sized and ochreous white in colour
• Fore wings are slightly suffused with brown tinge and a large triangular olive green patch on the outer area
• Hind wings are white suffused with fuscous towards outer margin
• Wing expanse is 22-26 mm.

Management:

• Collect and destroy the rolled leaves with caterpillars and pupae inside.
• Spray carbaryl 0.1%.