Seasonal Abundance and Feeding Behaviour of Oxyopes birmanicus Thorell on Tea Mosquito Bug Helopeltis theivora Waterhouse Bharathi N Santhana1,*, Rabeesh T P1 1Division of Entomology, UPASI TRF Tea Research Institute, Valparai642127, Tamil Nadu, India *Email: santhanabharathin@gmail.com (corresponding author): ORCID ID 0000-0002-2013-532X
Online Published on 31 August, 2024. Abstract The Burmese lynx spider, Oxyopes birmanicus Thorell (Araneae: Oxyopidae) is one of the endemic and entomophagous predatory arthropod species in India. This present study describes the seasonal abundance, vertical distribution, and feeding behaviour of O. birmanicus on nymph (4th/5th instar) and the adults of the tea mosquito bug, Helopeltis theivora Waterhouse (Hemiptera: Miridae) under laboratory conditions. The seasonal abundance of the O. birmanicus spider was considerably high from June to November and low from January to April. The abundance of O. birmanicus significantly correlated with the TMB infestation percentage. In a vertical distribution study, the O. birmanicus spider largely preferred the top level of the tea bush, the observed population was shared by the top and middle levels with 76% and 24% respectively. The feeding potential of the female O. birmanicus spider was significantly higher than the male and egg-guarding female. Both, male and egg-guarding female O. birmanicus showed on-par feeding efficacy. The study found that O. birmanicus was an efficient predator against TMB and the results may be useful in developing an integrated pest management strategy for TMB. Top Keywords Camelia sinensis, Tea, Helopeltis theivora, Biocontrol, Predator, Spider, Seasonal abundance, Distribution feeding behaviour IPM, South India, Oxyopes birmanicus. Top |