The adult is a brown beetle Fig..

1
Module II Economically Important Insect Pests
Virtual Academy for the Semi Arid Tropics
Lesson 6 Bruchids

• The adult is a brown beetle (Fig.).
• Small translucent milky-white eggs can be seen
  attached to the pod wall. The larva burrows
  through the pod wall, and starts eating the seed.
  
• Fully grown larvae often leave the storage bag
  and pupate in large numbers at the bottom of the
  pile of bags.

Brown Beetle
Course on Insect Pests of Groundnut
2

• Bruchids Damage
• The first sign of attack is the appearance of
  'windows' cut into the pod wall by the larva.
• The larva burrows through the pod wall, and eats
  the seeds. Thus, groundnut seeds are too badly
  damaged and unfit for human consumption or oil
  expulsion.

Larva damaging seeds
3

• Management
• Dry the pods to less than 10 moisture before
  storing.
• No live insect pests are present in the produce
  or in the storage areas.
• Spraying the bags with pods with DDVP (Nuvan) at
  2 mL/ liter of water or dusting with 5
  Malathion.

4

• Management
• Fumigation of pods with Aluminum phosphide
  (Celphos) at 3 g tablets per bag of groundnut (40
  kg) and covering the sacks with polythene sheet
  for 5 days can effectively control bruchids
  without affecting the seed viability.
• Fumigation should be done only in well aerated
  places outside the residential areas or in seed
  godowns only, under the supervision of plant
  protection specialist.

5
Module II Economically Important Insect Pests
Virtual Academy for the Semi Arid Tropics
With this, Lesson 7 on Bruchids, and the
Module II on Economically Important Insect Pests
in Groundnut concludes. If you want to check
your understanding about economically important
insect pests in groundnut, please click on
Exercise button in the Module II
contents. Next, Module III is about other
defoliators in groundnut. Select Module
III from Course contents
Course on Insect Pests of Groundnut