Abstract:
Orchids are infested by different insect pests as that of other flowering and ornamental plants. The production of orchids is mainly hampered by the blossom midge, C. maculipennis. Studies on the biology of blossom midge, C. maculipennis showed that the incubation period (1.67 ± 0.39 days), larval period (8.50 ± 0.89 days), pupal period (9.37 ± 0.70 days), adult longevity of female (3.0. ± 0.55 days) and male (1.57 ± 0.53 days) were minimum during March – April 2018. Morphometrics of different stages of blossom midge were observed. The egg measured was 0.26 ± 0.04 mm in length and 0.06 ± 0.01 mm in breadth. The larval length was found to be 1.69 ± 0.11 mm and 0.40 ± 0.05 mm breadth. The length and breadth of the pupa was 1.63 ± 0.06 mm and 0.31 ± 0.05 mm, respectively. The female adult measures 1.91 ± 0.12 mm in length and 0.38 ± 0.04 mm in breadth and the male adult was 1.62 ± 0.08 mm in length and 0.31 ± 0.02 mm in breadth. Thereby, the bionomics and morphometrics on the pest paves way to identify and to follow the pest management strategies in a clear cut way.