Oxyrachis rufescens Walker

Gupta, Ruchie & Pathania, P. C., 2017, Report on Hemipteran pest diversity on apple plantations (Malus domestica Borkh.) in Jammu and Kashmir State of India, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 117 (4), pp. 356-356 : 356-

Oxyrachis rufescens Walker (Plate-1, Figure. j)

Taxonomicstatus: Hemiptera : Homoptera :Auchenorrhynca: Cicadoidea: Membracidae

Distribution: West Bengal, Chennai and Jammu and Kashmir (Chettry, 2008; Badan, 1986; Distant, 1908; Gupta, 2013)

Present Locality: The pest was recorded from Poonch and Mandi areas of Jammu region.

Host plants: Acacia arabica , A. nilotica , A. auriculiformia, Prosopis spicigera, Erythrina indica , Poinciana regia , Caesalpinia pulcherrima, C. Coriaria , Butea frondosa, Albizzia lebbek, Gliricida maculosa, Sesbania aegyptica, Cassia sp., Crotolaria junicia , Tamarindus indicus, ( Ananthasubramanium & Ananthakrishnan, 1975) , Dalbergia sissoo, Citrus ( Badan, 1986) and apples (Gupta, 2013).

Diagnostic features: Ferruginous brown, eyes dark brown, tegmina rusty, veins dark brown; abdomen dorsally dark reddish brown; tarsi deep brown, legs testaceous; males smaller and darker than females, tip acute with anterior carina more backwardly curved; pygofer posteriorly oblong, sparingly beset with macrosetae, microsetae distributed over entire surface; shaft gradually tapering to apex, finner serrated on its inner side; head vertical, nearly two times as wide as length of vertex, punctuate with short silvery hairs; ocelli crystalline, humeral angles prominent, tips sub acute, suprahumeral horns broad; hind wings with dark brown veins.

Damage: The pest does not cause significant damage to apple plantations as it seemed to be an occasional visitor. It sucks the sap of twigs and causes damage to twigs by laying eggs on them.