Occurrence of Rice Skipper Parnara guttata guttata (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) Larvae on Purple Rice and Forage Rice in Paddy Field

Abstract

Occurrence of second generation larvae and eggs of rice skipper was investigated on purple rice variety Purple rice of NARO Institute of Crop Science (Purple rice) and forage rice cultivar‘Momiroman’, latetransplanted in a paddy field. Number of eggs on leaves of the two varieties did not differ significantly, whereas number of larvae on Purple rice was significantly less than that on‘Momiroman’. Survival rate of newly hatched larvae was investigated by a laboratory rearing experiment using leaves of the two varieties. Half of the larvae on Purple rice leaves had left the leaves within 24 hours, whereas most larvae on‘Momiroman’leaves stayed on the leaves after 24 hours. It is possible that the Purple rice plant is not a suitable food for newly hatched larvae.