STUDY OF OVIPOSITION IN CARYEDON SERRATUS ON PHASEOLUS VULGARIS

Control of insect pest is a serious problem, as the use of different chemical pesticides to control them is injurious to human health and environment. Thorough knowledge of their biology is quite important to manage them. During present investigations oviposition in Caryedon serratus have been observed on Phaseolus vulgaris for the first time. The female C. serratus preferred to lay eggs near the depression as convex surface of the seed of P. vulgaris. Maximum number of eggs per seed was 15. Maximum egg laying occurred during the first 6-days of oviposition under all three temperatures (25C, 28C and 34C). The peak of egg laying occurred on 3-day at 25C and 34C, however, it occurred on 5-day at 28C. C. serratus prefer laying eggs in the depression, may possibly be due to two reasons, first, the seed coat may be weakest at this point, second, eggs laid in depression may be protected. Most of egg laying activity by day-6, helps the female to conserve its energy for greater longevity.