Showing papers by "St. Joseph's College, Devagiri published in 2009"
TL;DR: The seasonality of litter insect abundance and its relationship with rainfall was analyzed in a wet evergreen forest on the windward side of south Western Ghats and Coleoptera was the dominant group in all seasons.
Abstract: The seasonality of litter insect abundance and its relationship with rainfall was analyzed in a wet evergreen forest on the windward side of south Western Ghats. Monthly litter samples were collected using Berlese funnels during 4 seasons of a year: southwest monsoon season June—August), northeast monsoon season (September—November), summer (March -May) and pre-summer season (December—February). Insect fauna as a whole showed no seasonal variation in abundance, however, some individual insect orders showed significant seasonal variation. Overall insect fauna and individual orders were distributed independently relative to rainfall. All insect orders with the exception of Psocoptera were present during all four seasons. Coleoptera (42%) was the dominant group in all seasons followed by Formicidae (12.3%), insect larvae (10.1%), Collembola (9.2%) and Thysanoptera (8.9%). Exceptionally high abundance of Ptiliidae contributed to the unprecedented abundance of litter Coleoptera. The aseasonality of litter insect fauna as a whole is attributed to year-round availability of rainfall and the absence of severe summer conditions.
56 citations
TL;DR: Premature leaf availability is suggested as contributing to the reproductive efficiency of parental adults, the survival of early developmental stages and of new generation adults during dormancy by tracking the phenology of leaf fall in rubber plantations, time of return of post dormancy adults and the onset of summer rainfall.
Abstract: The population dynamics of the rubber plantation litter beetle, Luprops tristis Fabricius 1801 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) was assessed in relation to the phenology of leaf shedding and defoliation pattern of para rubber trees, Hevea brasiliensis Mull. Arg (Malpighiales: Euphorbiaceae), during a two year study period. The abundance of adults, larvae and pupae per 1m2 of litter sample was recorded. Post dormancy beetles appeared in leaf litter following annual leaf shedding, whereas larvae, pupae and teneral adults were present after leaf flush. No stages were recorded from plantations following the summer rains until the annual litter fall in the next season. Parental adults peaked at the time of leaf sprouting and tender leaf fall. Larvae and teneral adults peaked at the time of premature fall of green leaves and flowers. Teneral adults of six age classes were recorded and all entered dormancy irrespective of the feeding time available to each age class. Females outnumbered males in the parent generation, while the sex ratio of new generation adults was not biased towards either sex. The phenological stages of rubber trees included leaf fall in late December and early January, leaf sprouting and new leaf production in January and flowering in February. All feeding stages of L. tristis peaked in abundance when premature leaves are most abundant in the leaf litter. Prediction of the timing of appearance of various developmental stages of L. tristis in plantations, invasion into buildings and intensity of population build up in rubber belts is possible by tracking the phenology of leaf fall in rubber plantations, time of return of post dormancy adults and the onset of summer rainfall. Perfect synchrony was recorded between the field return of parental adults with annual leaf shedding, the oviposition phase of parental adults with tender leaf fall at the time of leaf sprouting, and larval and teneral adult stages with premature fall of leaves. Premature leaf availability is suggested as contributing to the reproductive efficiency of parental adults, the survival of early developmental stages and of new generation adults during dormancy.
20 citations
TL;DR: Ready availability of the preferred, prematurely fallen, tender rubber tree leaves as a food resource is suggested as being responsible for the exceptionally high abundance of L. tristis in rubber tree plantation belts.
Abstract: Massive invasion of the litter dwelling beetle, Luprops tristis Fabricius (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), numbering about 0.5 to 4 million per residential building following summer showers, and their prolonged stay in a state of dormancy, make them an extreme nuisance in rubber tree plantation belts of the Western Ghats in south India. Food preference of post-dormancy adults, larvae and teneral adults stages towards tender, mature and senescent leaves were assessed in three choice and no choice leaf disc tests. All stages have strong preference towards fallen tender leaves and lowest preference towards senescent leaves indicating that leaf age is a major attribute determining food selection and food preference of L. tristis. Ready availability of the preferred, prematurely fallen, tender rubber tree leaves as a food resource is suggested as being responsible for the exceptionally high abundance of L. tristis in rubber tree plantation belts.
16 citations
TL;DR: A new carabid species belonging to the termitophilous genus Orthogonius with catalogue of the species in peninsular India (south of Indian subcontinent including Sri Lanka), check list and key to thespecies in the moist south Western Ghats in south India, is provided.
Abstract: Description of a new carabid species belonging to the termitophilous genus Orthogonius with catalogue of the species in peninsular India (south of Indian subcontinent including Sri Lanka), check list and key to the species in the moist south Western Ghats in south India, is provided. In addition, notes on the regional distribution pattern of the genus in the Indian subcontinent, association with termitoriums, rarity and seasonality in collections and periodicity in arrival are added.
4 citations