Summary
Anisops bouvieri is a very common insect predator in fish ponds. It feeds voraciously on fish fry, larvae and nymphs of other aquatic insects and different types of planktonic crustaceans. During periods of starvation it develops cannibalistic tendencies. Copulation and oviposition in this species have been dealt with in some detail and certain aspects of behaviour during moulting have also been described.
The relative growth of head width and body length has been studied and a mathematical relationship between the two variables is established. The relationship between head width and body length and number of instar has been investigated into and the validity of DeAbate’s formula in forecasting the head width and body length at a subsequent instar with the known initial values at the first instar was examined. Some deviation was noticed between the observed values and those calculated by DeAbate’s formula. Hence an improved formula which satisfactorily predicts the value of head width and body length of subsequent instars with the known initial value of the first instar has been derived. Age and fecundity relationship in this species has been examined.
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Communicated by Dr. B. S. Bhimachar,f.a.sc.
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Julka, J.M. Observations on the biology of aquatic bugs (Hemiptera) injurious to the pond fishes. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. 61, 49–61 (1965). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03051075
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03051075