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Nutritional Preferences of Grammodes stolida (Fab), a Defoliator of the Forest Tree, Lannea coromandelica (Houtt)

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Abstract

In quantitative feeding experiments, larvae of Grammodes stolida (Fab) consumed significantly more of mature leaves than young and senescent leaves of Lannea coromandelica (Houtt). The maximum leaf consumption was by the third instar. The amount of food consumed by the penultimate and final instars comprised 72.6% of the total larval consumption. Food utilisation indices, namely approximate digestibility (AD), efficiency of conversion of ingested food (ECI), and efficiency of conversion of digested food (ECD) showed a significant decrease during the second larval stage. The bionomics of the moth were studied in relation to its survivability and reproductive potential on Lannea coromandelica which appears to be a potential host which the pest could colonise during periods of non-availability of other crop hosts.

Résumé

Dans des expériences quantitatives d’alimentation, des larves de Grammodes stolida (Fab) ont consommé significativement plus de feuilles mûres que de feuilles jeunes ou vieillissantes de Lannea coromandelica (Houtt). Le maximum de consommation folière était chez le troisième stade. La quantité de nourriture consommée par les stade pénultième et terminaux comprenait 72.6% de la consommation larvaire totale. Les indices d’utilisation de nourriture, à savoir la digestiblilité approximative (D A), l’efficience de conversion de la nourriture ingérée (ECI), efficience de conversion de la nourriture digérée (ECD) ont montré une diminution significative pendant le deuxième stade larvaire. La bionomie de la phalène a été étudiée en rapport avec sa survie et son potentiel de reproduction sur Lannea coromandelica qui semble être un hôte potentiel que le ravageur pourrait coloniser pendant les périodes d’indisponibilité d’autres plantes.

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  1. G.S. Gill Research Institute, Guru Nanak College, Madras, 600 042, India

    K. P. Sanjayan & D. Suresh Chand

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  1. K. P. Sanjayan
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  2. D. Suresh Chand
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Sanjayan, K.P., Suresh Chand, D. Nutritional Preferences of Grammodes stolida (Fab), a Defoliator of the Forest Tree, Lannea coromandelica (Houtt). Int J Trop Insect Sci 17, 257–263 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742758400016453

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