Alcidodes

Abstract: The Dipterocarpaceae in South-East Asia are known for their strict mast fruiting. During fruiting, pre-dispersal seed predation by insects contributes to mortality of dipterocarp seeds. We documented the community structure of insect seed predators on 11 Shorea species in Peninsular Malaysia. Fruits were sampled sequentially throughout seed development, and 2144 and 1655 individuals of seed predator weevils and moths were collected in two mast-fruiting events. Four weevils: Nanophyes shoreae, nanophyid sp. 1, Alcidodes dipterocarpi and Alcidodes humeralis, and one moth Andrioplecta shoreae were abundant in seeds of the Shorea species. The proportion of N. shoreae to the total predators became larger in the latter fruiting event than the former while that of Alcidodes spp. became smaller. The predator species composition changed during seed development; nanophyid spp. emerged from immature fruits while Alcidodes spp. emerged from mature fruits. Andrioplecta shoreae emerged from both immature and mature fruits. The level of host specificity measured by Kullback–Leibler distance was low for most predator species in both events. Predator species composition of many Shorea was similar to each other due to the dominance of N. shoreae though it might gradually differ with the phylogenetic distance between hosts. In conclusion, predator species composition of Shorea varied during seed development within a host rather than among hosts. Intermittent synchronized fruiting by congeneric Shorea trees would be advantageous to avoid pre-dispersal insect seed predators, and contribute to their reproduction.

Abstract: Red kidney bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) an important cash crop is attacked by eight species of insect pests which cause considerable damage. They included thrips, Scirtothrips dorsalis ; aphids, Aphis craccivora ; whitefly, Bemisia tobaci ; hairy caterpillar, Spilosoma obliqua ; stemfly, Ophiomyia phaseoli ; pulse beetle Callosobruchus chinensis ; bean gall weevil Alcidodes signatus and blister beetle Cyaneolylta coerculea. Of all these pests, bean gall weevil Alcidodes signatus and blister beetle, Cyaneolylta coerculea were the serious pests and recorded for the first from the crop and the country.

Abstract: The present study was undertaken to record the weevil diversity of District Samba of Jammu and Kashmir State. Extensive survey of the region was conducted during the year 2008-09 to record the diversity of weevils. A total of nine species of weevils (superfamily Curculionoidea) viz. Cylas formicarius, Alcidodes signatus, Alcidodes collaris, Xanthochelus faunus, Apion sp., Odoiporous longicollis, Lixus truncatulus, Myllocerus discolor, Phytoscaphus sp. were collected, preserved and identified from IARI, New Delhi. Further studies with regard to their diagnostic features are also incorporated in this communication

Abstract: A weevil, Alcidodes fabricii, damaging seeds; a fly, Melanagromyza convolvuli, boring stems and roots; a noctuid, Eublemma baccalix, damaging flowers; and a pyralid, Noctuelia floralis, damaging both aerial and underground stems, are considered as being stenophagous and promising biological control agents of Convolvulus arvensis. Investigations on the biology, ecology, distribution and host specificity of these are given. On the basis of these studies, the four insect species are recommended for the biological control of C. arvensis in areas where morning glories (Ipomoea spp.) are not considered important.