Abstract

The occurrence and pest status of insects that attack young plantations of bamboos have been studied. A total of 11 species of insects belonging to Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, Coleoptera and Hymenoptera have been collected and identified. Of these, Myllocerus sp. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), Phymatostetha deschamps (Hemiptera: Cercopidae), Notobitus sp. (Hemiptera: Coreidae), Purohita cervina (Hemiptera Fulgoridae) and Ceraphron sp. (Hymenoptera: Ceraphronidae) reported in this study are new pest records for bamboo in Kerala. In general, the severity of damage due to various insects was very low. However, the damage done by shoot borers and sap suckers is of concern