Functional Response of Rhynocoris fuscipes Fabricius (Heteroptera:Reduviidae) to Riptortus clavatus Thunberg (Heteroptera:Alydidae)

Functional response of the reduviid predator, Rhynocoris fuscipes Fabricius to the bean bug Riptortus clavatus Thunberg was studied in pigeonpea branch terminals using field cages. Rhynocoris fuscipes positively responded to the changing abundance of prey andexhiblted Holling's second model of functional response. The searching capacity of R. fuscipes increased with increasing prey density. The considerable number of prey consumed by the predator per day at higher prey density than at lower density reflected the predator's biocontrol potential.