Rajesh Kumar & Braj Bhusan Prasad Singh*
University Department of Zoology, Jai Prakash University, Chapra, Bihar, India
Received : 29th May, 2023 ; Revised : 30th June, 2023
DOI:-https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12194275
Abstract– An experiment was conducted under laboratory conditions for the investigation of the different aspects of biology of Aulacophora foveicollis Lucas, the red pumpkin beetle, is a species of beetle belongs to the family Chrysomelidae under the order Coleoptera and class insecta or hexapoda. The most favorite sweet gourd and bottle gourd plants were selected /used as a host plants for feeding to conduct this research. The sexually matured female red pumpkin beetle laid eggs loosely in a bunch of 110 to 180 eggs on the underside of the leaf of cucurbit plants with an average of 140.5 ± 29.8. The eggs were oval in shape and yellow in color and incubated for 11.7 ± 0.2 days and hatchability percentage was 85.14 ± 1.24. The newly-hatched larvae were pale yellow in color with dull brown heads. The larval period was 12.05 ± 0.14 days. The pupation occurred in earthen cell. The pupa was an exarate type with naked appendages. The fully-developed pupa was yellowish in color with red eyes. The pupal periods varied in different monsoon periods. Wings of the newly-emerged adults were dull-brownish in color; later, with the advancement of adult age, the wings turned bright orange-red. Sexual dimorphism was observed in adults. The longevity of male and females was 62.70 ± 2.70 and 63.05 ± 1.68 days, respectively. A pair was able to mate 15 times. In case of multiple mating, a male was found to mate 7 virgin females, whereas, a female was mated by 6 virgin males. The first mating was found on 9.21 ± 0.24 days after emergence. The mating period was continued up to 12.15 ± 0.47 days from the day of first mating. The mean pre-oviposition period was 6.70 ± 0.28 days. The egg laying activity was continued by the female up to 8.6 ± 0.54 days, which was the oviposition period. The near post-oviposition period (last egg laying to death of females) was 25.0/11.02. The adult longevity of females was slightly higher than the male (63.05 ± 1.68 days for female and 62.70 ± 2.4 days for male).
Key words: Aulacophora foveicollis, Sexual dimorphism, hexapoda
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