Handpicking Is An Efficient Practice For Blister Beetle MylabrisPustulata(Meloidae: Coleoptera) In Garden

Abstract

Blister beetle is a highly movable Coleopteran insect. Adults mainly feed on floral parts while grub exhibits predacious habit which preys on honey bee and eggs of grasshoppers. Management of this beetle in the garden which predominantly contains flowering plants is a serious concern. Application of chemical pesticides is costly comparatively while it leads to environmental hazards. By considering these aspects, the experiment was conducted to evaluate the infestation severity and efficiency of handpicking in both laboratory and field. For damage estimation, two severely affected plants species were selected and assessed in terms of damaging parts in flower and count of beetle while in vitro study was conducted to analyze the feeding preference by introducing the beetles into four different plants species. Four replicates were maintained. Results were analyzed statistically using one-way ANOVA in SPSS. Handpicking was performed every day Morning up to seven days continuously. The results revealed most of the flower parts damaged by this beetle except sepal and ovary. In field level, beetle infestation high in shoe flower and the maximum damage percentage obtained as 54.6% per plant. In vitro study also confirmed that the shoe is highly preferred by this beetle while among the shoe flower species, shoe flower yellow and shoe flower big pink scored 100% damage but shoe flower yellow significantly damaged by this beetle. Handpicking reduced the number of beetles significantly since it was noted that the number beetles were high in some random plants up to three days. After the fourth day, the population was minimized to zero and no further entry observed. These results suggested handpicking is an efficient management practice for this large beetle in the garden level within 0.5 ha.