Marginal Notching

Grasshopper: Hieroglyphus banian, Oxya nitidula: Acrididae : Orthoptera.

ü  O.nitidula: green, smaller with brown band on sides. H.banian: Green, larger with three transverse black lines on pronotum.

ü  Female digs a deep hole in soft soil, mostly by the sides of band with its ovipositor upto a depth of 5-8 cm and lays 30-40 eggs, which is called as “egg pod”.

ü Both nymph and adult feed irregularly on leaf blades.

Skipper: Pelopidas mathias: Hesperiidae: Lepidoptera.

ü  Larva: Pale green with constricted neck. Head is prominent with a red ‘V’ mark on it.

ü  Adult: Dark brown with two white spots on the forewings.

ü  The caterpillar folds the leaves longitudinally, fastening the edges together, remains inside the fold.

Swarming caterpillar or Armyworm:Spodoptera mauritia:  Noctuidae : Lepidoptera

ü  Sporadic pest appears during July- September.

ü  Larva: Long, cylindrical, smooth and dark to pale green in color, with dull reddish and yellowish dorsal and sub dorsal stripes.

ü  Adult: medium size, Grayish brown moth with black spot near the anterior margin and irregular, wavy, black band along the lateral margin of forewing.. Hindwing whitish brown

ü  Cutting of seedlings in large scale, similar to cattle grazing by nocturnal feeding. Peduncles of ears bitten through in maturing crop.