Rice Bug (Leptocorisa acuta ):

Rice Bug (Leptocorisa acuta ):

It is commonly it is called as “Gundhi bug”.

 Classification 

Phylum – Arthropoda

Class – Insecta

Order – Hemiptera

Genus – Leptocorisa

Species – acuta

 Distribution:

Rice bugs have been commonly found in Australia,US Bangladesh, Burma, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Thailand etc. 

Seen throughout India but is more prevalent in Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and southern states. 

It is an active greenish-yellow insect with long slender legs and characteristic buggy odour. The adult measures about 2-3cm in length.

 Damage caused:

They infest paddy crops in large number in flower stage. 

It has sucking mouth parts and  they suck out the milk from the newly formed grains which soon shrivel. 

The stalk of flower is  without grains. 

The loss caused to paddy by this pest varies from 5 to 25 %.

 Life cycle:

After mating female lay eggs in two or three rows. 

Eggs are dark coloured, oval  and flattened at the top. 

Eggs hatch in about one week. 

The young one called nymphs have slender green body and longer legs. 

The nymphs generally take about twenty days to attain full maturity. 

All the  stages of developing bug  seen around the riping ears of paddy and suck out the juice. 

This pest is more common during July to November.

 During winter their breeding rate is lowered much and the adults manage to tide over the cold on several species of grasses. 

On paddy it has five broods during the season.

 Control measures 

Cultural Method:

1. Removal of grasses from field and field bunds help in reducing the pest population, as the pest multiply there.

2. Three or four days of draining out the water from infested field for three to four days is also helpful.

3. Crop rotation is best practice to control the pest. 

Chemical Method

1. Dusting with BHC  Malathion and Methylparathion dust is also effective.

2. Spraying of DDT or BHC or Endrin atleast two weeks before harvesting.

Mechanical Control:

1. Collection and killing  of the bugs with a hand net. 

Biological Control:

 Natural enemy Cicendalasix punctata pentatumid prey upon the nymph and adults of Leptocorisa.