Biology of Castor Leafhopper Empoasca Flavescens Fabricius

The biology of castor leafhopper, Empoasca flavescens Fabricius was studied in the laboratory of the Department of Entomology, C. P. C. A., S. D. A. U., Sardarkrushinagar during 2012–13. The results revealed that the female inserted eggs into leaf tissue mainly near the midrib and veins at lower surface of leaves. It was very difficult to detect them with naked eyes, but could be marked by a small blister on the leaf surface. The eggs were broad and round at one end and gradually tapered towards the other end. The nymphal stage passed through five instars. The mean nymphal development period of first, second, third, fourth and fifth instars were of 2.17 ± 0.76, 2.50 ± 0.87, 3.33 ± 0.76, 3.70 ± 1.01 and 3.20 ± 0.90 days, respectively. The total nymphal duration was 12.73 ± 2.42 days. The adults were yellowish green, wedge shaped and walked diagonally in characteristic manner. The sex ratio of (male: female) was 1: 1.18 for laboratory culture and 1: 1.35 for field collected population. The mean pre-oviposition, oviposition and post-oviposition periods were 3.12 ± 0.85, 4.16 ± 0.87 and 3.24 ± 0.81 days, respectively. The fecundity was 17.11 ± 1.25 eggs. The average longevity of male and female was 8.83 ± 0.97 and 10.85 ± 1.23 days, respectively. The total duration of life cycle varied from 21 to 34 days with a mean of 28.83 ± 4.54 days in male, and 24 to 38 days (average 32.17± 5.85 days) in female.