Carabid beetle, Omphra pilosa Klug (Coleoptera: Carabidae) a potential predator on termites.
Kumar P., Rajagopal D.
Author Affiliation: Department of Entomology, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore 560?065, India.
Journal of Biological Control 4 : 105-108
Abstract : The occurrence and activity of the predator, Omphra pilosa, were studied in 1987-1990 in Karnataka, India. Adults and larvae of the predator fed exclusively on all castes of Isoptera. The adults each consumed on average 15 workers and 2.1 alates per day. The consumption rate increased with increasing prey density. Larvae stored termites in their tunnels. The relative frequencies of the predator in millet, groundnut, soyabean, paddy [rice], mangoes, mulberries and a Eucalyptus plantation were investigated. Both larvae and adults were most abundant in millet, groundnut and soyabean ecosystems and lived under weed stubble that was infested with termites.