Book Description

All the economically important species of locusts and grasshoppers belong to Superfamily Acridoidea. They constitute an economically important group of Orthopterous pests infesting a number of cultivated and non-cultivated crops and are well known for their destructiveness all over the world. They are serious pests of agricultural crops, pastures and forests. They are also called short-horned grasshoppers in contrast to Ensifera (Tettigonoidea and Grylloidea) or long-horned grasshoppers which constitute one of the other suborder of Orthoptera. Suborder Caelifera is divided into four superfamilies viz. Acridoidea, Tridactyloidea, Tetrigoidea and Eumastacoidea. Acridoidea possess short antennae, usually shorter than the body, a short and stout ovipositor and their tarsi are three-segmented. The other superfamilies of Caelifera are easily recognizable at sight and are not frequently encountered. Superfamily Acridoidea has shown maximum diversity and divided into various families of which family Acrididae is widely distributed in India.The Superfamily Acridoidea constitute the largest and most diverse group amongst the Orthoptera. A very high degree of adaptive radiation in the feeding apparatus of this group of Orthoptera is indicative of their diverse feeding habits. The present proposal was aimed at studying large number of species of Acrididae which were collected from different regions of North India. The status of various characters used in the identification were judged on the basis of their consistency and variation to ascertain their importance in the group. An in-depth study helps in understanding the biodiversity and phylogeny of this group. The identification keys have been prepared to make identification easy. It is hoped that this book will bring the nomenclature of Indian Acrididae up to-date and will be useful to workers both in applied and basic research. The object of this book is to provide taxonomist, economic entomologist, agriculturist, ecologist and others with up to-date information on the valid genera and species along with their distribution in different parts of the country. The distribution of each species are given in the text. The authors have included their own observations on the distribution of Acrididae in North Indian regions which was ignored by earlier workers. The proposal has a great importance from the point of view of both applied and fundamental knowledge. Visualizing the economic importance of these pests the present book has been prepared.Work done and objectives achieved 1. Geographic area under North India have been extensively surveyed and Acridid samples have been collected.2. The collected specimens were studied in detail and described and illustrated taxonomically.3. Genitalic plates of the described taxa have been provided that complement the descriptions.4. Color photographs of the taxa have also been added to the descriptions that ease the identification of the same.5. A master chart depicting total specimens, their distribution, concentration areas, host plants etc. has been provided.6. Host range has been provided along with information on habitat, latitude and altitude..