| Abstract: | Cardiastethus exiguus Poppius is an indigenous anthocorid predator of eggs and neonates of the notorious pest, coconut black - headed caterpillar Opisina arenosella Walker in India. At the National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Insects ( Indian Council of Agricultural Research ),Bangalore, India, a simple mass production protocol was developed for multiplying C. exiguus using UV - irradiated eggs of alternate laboratory host Corcyra cephalonica Stainton. Field evaluation of the predator in the states of Kerala and Karnataka indicated that this predator could bring about a significant reduction in the pest population. Subsequently, the need was felt to investigate the storage efficacy of the eggs and adults of C. exiguus so that sufficient numbers could be accumulated and transportation of the predator could be planned for field releases. Low temperature storage studies indicated that C. exiguus eggs can be safely stored for up to 5 days at 10℃ and 10 days at 15℃ and incubation period could be staggered for up to 10 and 13 days, respectively. The longevity of the C. exiguus adults was significantly reduced due to low temperature storage. However, for adult females, a storage temperature of 15℃ for 15 days could be recommended as they could live for a more than a month after removal from storage and their progeny production was comparable to that of the control adults. |
