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A laboratory experiment was conducted during kharif, 2017 at Insectary, Department of Entomology, Agricultural college to study the biology of castor semilooper A. janata on castor varieties with different blooms. The Longest larval duration, adult longevity, total life cycle with more larval weights and fecundity of A. janata were observed when reared on DPC-9 (14.42 ±0.87 days; 13.15±0.93 days; 40.77 ± 01.52 days and 1.253 ± 0.129 g; 316.5 ± 20.07 eggs, respectively), indicating DPC-9 as the most preferred variety for growth and multiplication of A. janata followed by DCH-177 (14.25 ±0.81 days; 13.00 ±0.72 days; 40.70 ±01.17 days and 1.202 ± 0.090 g; 276.5 ± 35.19 eggs, respectively). The Shortest larval duration, adult longevity, total life cycle with less larval weight and fecundity of A. janata were observed when reared on GCH-4 (12.42 ±0.81 days; 12.75 ±0.73 days; 36.47 ±03.21 days and 0.925 ± 0.218 g; 234.25 ±20.27 eggs, respectively) followed by DCH-519 (12.50 ±0.58 days; 12.65 ±0.58 days; 37.15 ±01.25 days and 1.191 ± 0.095 g; 231.0 ± 13.16 eggs, respectively), indicating least preferred hosts for growth and multiplication of A. janata. The present investigation revealed that triple bloom varieties viz., DCH-59 (Green triple bloom) and GCH-4 (Red triple bloom) could be ranked as poor or non-preferred host for growth and multiplication of A. janata. Whereas, DPC-9 (Green zero bloom) and DCH-177 (Red single bloom) could be ranked as good or preferred host for growth and multiplication of A. janata.
Key words: Biology, Castor semilooper, Achaea janata