Biology of Chilocorus bijugus Mulsant (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), Predator of San Jose scale, Quadraspidiotus perniciosus (Comstock)

The coccinellid, Chilocorus bijugus Mulsant is a potential predator of San Jose scale, Quadraspidiotus perniciosus (Comstock), a serious pest of apple crop in certain hilly tracts of India (Pruthi and Rao, 1951; Tuhan et al., 1979; Rawat et al., 1988 a,b). Available literature reveals that insufficient studies have been undertaken on the biology of such an effective predator all over the world. Kapur (1954) and Chanyuvadze (1976) have only given some brief information on the biology of this predator. Since, information on the biology of C. bijugus is very scanty, an attempt was made to study in detail and the results are presented in this communication.