Abstract

Tachinidae of Indian Helicoverpa Hardwick / Heliothis Ochsenheimer - A Review

S. V. Chaudhari

Asso. Prof.  and Head Dept. of Zoology, Arts, Science & Commerce College, Rahuri 413705, Dist. Ahmednagar, Maharashtra (India)

E-mail: su1dha@yahoo.co.in , Mob.No.9890756874.

Abstract- Present communication deals with the review of Tachinidae of Indian Helicoverpa Hubner/Heliothis Ochsenheimer. Three species of Helicoverpa viz., H.armigera (Hubner), H.assulata (Guenee) and H.peltigera (Schiffermuller) occur in India. Altogether 162 arthropod parasitoids have been recorded in India on Helicoverpa spp. Of the recorded number of parasitoids (114)- 30, 19 and 20 parasitoid species occur on H.armigera, H.assulata and H.peltigera, respectively. Parasitic Diptera are next to the parasitic Hymenoptera in natural control of Helicoverpa species, but host range of Diptera come from more animal groups. In India altogether 31 dipteran parasitoids have been recorded of which, 30 tachinid parasitoids are recorded on Helicoverpa species. Of these 28,6 and 4 species of Tachinidae belonging to subfamily Goniinae attack on H.armigera, H.assulata and H.peltigera, respectively. The tachinid parasitoids are mainly larval, and larvo-pupal which invade on old larvae, 3-6 instars and prevent the economic loss caused by the Helicoverpa spp. of the crop. The tachinid parasitoids are mainly useful on cotton, pigeonpea, tomato, sorghum and sunflower crops. Amongst these, Carcelia illota Curran, Goniopthalmus halli Mesnil, Palaxorista laxa Curran, Drino imberbis Wiedmann and Exorista xanthospis Wiedmann are common tachinid species recorded on H.armigera. C.illota and G.halli are common on three species of Helicoverpa. Palexorista and P.laxa are common on H.armigera and H.assulata. P.solennis Walker common on H.armigera and H.peltigera. The percent parasitism recorded on H.armigera for C.illota 4-52%, G.halli 18-20%, P.laxa12-18%, Drino imbrbis 25%, Exorista xanthospis and C.illota 24.54 %. In general dipteran tachinids can parasitise 22-25%. This paper also mentions the work done by different workers on indigenous and exotic species. The tachinid are more active during cooler months of November to January. There has been found confusion, labeling and identification of tachinids. There is need of universal cataloging by Zoological Survey.

          The genus Helicoverpa Hardwick / Heliothis Ochsenheimer consists of more than 75 species or subspecies (Todd, 1978). It belongs to the order Lepidoptera, family Noctuidae and subfamily Heliothinae. Three species of subfamily Heliothinae, namely Helicoverpa armigra (Hubner), Helicoverpa assulata (Guenee) and Helicoverpa peltigera (Denis and Schiffermuller) occur in India. H. armigera is a serious pest on several crops. It is widely distributed in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. H. armigera is highly polyphagaus pest. In India, it has been recorded on 181 cultivated and wild plant species (Manjunath et al., 1989). From the 1980s, serious outbreaks of this species have been occurred in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Punjab on crops such as cotton, chickpea and pigeonpea. It is evident from the surveys conducted in farmer’s fields that average annual losses caused by H. armigera on chickpea and pigeonpea alone may exceed $300 million per year (Reed and Pawar, 1982). The loss may be due to sporadic outbreaks and resistance of Helicoverpa species to insecticides.