Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

STUDIES ON HOST SPECIFICITY AND PREFERENCE OF THE METALLIC COLOURED TORTOISE BEETLE (ASPIDOMORPHA MILIARIS F.)

P. Oudhia

Abstract

Due to non-availability of information regarding host specificity and preference of metallic coloured Tortoise beetle (Aspidomorpha miliaris F.), a series of studies were conducted. More than fourty plant species including agricultural crops, weeds, ornamental, medicinal and fruit plants were tested for the host specificity and preference of Tortoise beetle. The beetle was found to be very specific to lpomoea cornea, Ipomoea aquatica, Ipomoea reniformis Ipornoea palmata and Convolvulus arvensis. The study suggested that there is a tremendous scope of utilizing this beetle for ecofriendly management of these weed species.