COLEOPTERA

Mitra, Bulganin, Shah, Suresh Kumar & Mishra, Purnendu, 2018, Insect Fauna associated with the Tea Ecosystem of North Bengal, India, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 118 (2), pp. 178-178 : 178-

Order COLEOPTERA

Coleoptera (beetles and weevils) is the largest order in the class Insecta. They feed on a wide variety of diets, inhabit all terrestrial and fresh-water environments, and exhibit a number of diferent life styles. Many species are herbivores, adapted to feed on the roots, stems, leaves, or reproductive structures of their host plants. Some species live on fungi, others burrow into plant tissues and some excavate tunnels in wood or under bark. Many beetles are predators. Some beetles are scavengers, feeding primarily on carrion, decaying wood or other dead organic matter.

19 species under 16 genera belonging to 05 families of the order Coleoptera were reported from the tea gardens of North Bengal ( Table 6). Of them, Scarabaeidae represent 09 Species followed by Cerambycidae (06 Species), Coccinellidae (02 Species), Lucanidae (01 species) and Curculionidae (01 species). Among the family Scarabaeidae , three species namely, Holotrichia sp. , Anomala dimidiata and Xylotrupes gideon are reported as pests of tea ( Roy et al., 2014).

Only two species of the family Cocinellidae , Micraspis discolor and Coccinella septempunctata are recorded during present study ( Table 6). Micraspis discolor is the most abundant species of coccinellid in all the ecosystems. Roy et al., (2010) were observed twenty species of coccinellid predators in Sub-Himalayan tea plantation of North Bengal during 2004 to 2006. Of these, Micraspis discolor (**) was dominant (42.5%) in the conventionally managed tea plantations. The life cycle studies also suggested that the tea aphid was the preferred prey for Micraspis discolor , but the predator can survive on red spider mite also Roy et al., (2010). The abundance of adult M. discolor in rice at flowering phase does not correspond to prey abundance in the field but rather reflects an inclination to pollen feeding more than entomophagy ( Shanker et al. 2013). C. septempunctata (**) has a broad ecological range. Both the adults and the larvae are voracious predators of aphids. The diversity of lady bird beetles in tea ecosystem may be due to the complex and stable ecosystem of tea plantations.

05 species (*) as pest and 02 species as predators (**) of the order Coleoptera were reported from the tea gardens of North Bengal ( Table 6).

plants of North Bengal

No. Species

Family CERAMBYCIDAE

1 Dorysthenes (Lophosternus) indicus (Hope, 1831)

2 Dorysthenes (Paraphrus) granulosus (Thomson, 1861)

3 Xystrocera globosa (Olivier, 1795)

4 Aristobia approximator (Thomson, 1865)

5 Batocera rufomaculata (De Geer, 1775)

6 Nupserha sp.

Family SCARABAEIDAE

7* Xylotrupes gideon (Fabricius, 1775)

8* Catharsius molossus (Linnaeus, 1758)

9 Catharsius sagax (Quenstedt, 1806)

10 Onitis subopacus (Arrow, 1931)

11* Holotrichia sp.

12 Brahmina sp.

13 Anomala grandis (Hope, 1840)

14* Anomala dimidiata (Hope, 1831)

15 Melolontha guttigera (Sharp, 1876)

Family COCCINELLIDAE

16** Micraspis discolor (Fabricius, 1798)

17** Coccinella septempunctata (Linnaeus,1758)

Family LUCANIDAE

18 Odontolabis siva (Hope & Westwood, 1845)

Family CURCULIONIDAE

19* Astycus lateralis (Fabricius, 1792)