Abstract

Present study was conducted to investigate the adaptability of the pest H. nigrorepletus to its host plants with reference to life history statistics under laboratory conditions. Nymphs and adults of H. nigrorepletus were reared on five selected host plants i.e., Oryza sativa, Zea mays, Saccharum officinarum, Desmostachya bipinnata and mixed diet. Feeding on O. sativa (29.85 days), Z. mays (30.48 days) and mixed diet (29.80 days) led to the faster development of nymphs compared to those fed on S. officinarum (41.85 days) and D. bipinnata (42.45 days). Adults laid greater number of egg-pods (3.30`1.82 and 3.30`1.50) per female and production of eggs was also high (78.30`46.19 and 78.40`33.23) on O. sativa and mixed diet, respectively, compared to other host plants tested. H. nigrorepletus showed significant differences in term of duration of life cycle, longevity and fecundity, when raised on various host plants. However, O. sativa and mixed diet proved to be the most suitable host compared to other host plants were tested.