Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata Fabricius

Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata is a destructive pest of brinjal and potato. Adults and grubs feed on the brinjal leaves and skeletonize them. The attacked leaves may finally dry up. The female deposits eggs in clusters of about 45 eggs each. A total of about 120 or 180 eggs are laid. The eggs hatch in 3-4 days and the grub completes feeding in 13 to 15 days and pupates on the leaves. The adults emerge from such pupae in 3 to 5 days.

The beetles collected from the field are kept in a separate room. The production is started from the eggs obtained from these beetles. The beetles are reared in 30x30x30 cm wooden cages (secured form sides with plastic mesh, the bottom is made of wood and the front door fitted with clear acrylic sheet) on bouquet of brinjal leaves, one hundred beetles are released in each cage. The bouquet containing eggs is replaced daily by a fresh one. The grubs of the beetle are reared in separate cages where they are either allowed to complete the development or collected and utilized for production of parasitoids.