Vol. 11, Special Issue 8 (2022)

Author(s):
M Ashwini and Abhishek Shukla

Abstract:
An investigation on the biology of zigzag ladybird beetle, Cheilomenes sexmaculata (Fabricius) on cowpea aphid, Aphis craccivora (Koch) was conducted under laboratory conditions. The results revealed that the mean incubation period was 1.64±0.72 days. The mean hatching percentage of eggs was 89.25±3.97 per cent. The mean duration of first, second, third and fourth instar larva was 1.26±0.44, 1.68±0.59, 2.28±0.54 and 2.44±0.61 days, respectively. The total larval period was 7.66±1.61days. The mean prepupal and pupal period was 1.04±0.20 and 2.18±0.48 days, respectively. The mean percentage of adult emergence was 89.48±4.44 per cent with a sex ratio of 1:1.40. The mean pre-oviposition, oviposition and post-oviposition was 3.48±0.77, 16.40±1.29 and 3.00±0.87 days, respectively. The fecundity of a gravid female was 363.32±76.32 eggs. The adult longevity in male and female adults was 17.12±1.44 days and 22.54±2.38 days, respectively. The total life span of males was 29.64±2.59 while in the females it was 35.06±3.17 days.