UTTAR PRADESH JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY

Reduviidae a large, polyphagous, voracious and predatory agents of biological control are Cimicomorph geocorid bugs under suborder Heteroptera (Hemiptera). About the global abundance, they have been approximately estimated 7.42% in India. The family had 14 subfamilies. It has been reported that maximum are from subfamily Harpactorinae followed by Reduviinae and Ectricodiinae. The distribution and diversity of Reduviidae at Muzaffarnagar, the subfamily Peiratinae has abundant species from Ectomocoris, the subfamily Stenopodalinae and Reduviinae are in abundance, thereafter. The assassin bugs are categorized in three forms via the tropical rain forest, the semiarid zone and the scrub jungle forms. The former vic tropical rain forest forms are predominant, arboreal, diurnal and found in liter. The last two concealed underneath the boulders, bark of trees, scrubs and litter. The assassin bugs species adjacent to the tropical rain forest ecosystems relatively much more in numbers and attracted to light called the agroecosystem forms. The rostrum, tibial pads and wings have been used to categorize taxonomic grouping of assassin bugs. Majority of entomosuccivorous assassin bugs feed over insect pests. Congregational feeding is common amongst the tropical rain forest forms. The fecundity is high or eggs are not hatches out all at the same time, hence, the residual eggs are left over to hatch out at a later stage, to conserve species during adverse conditions. The eggs are elongate, oval and exposed, and laid over in clusters, glued with the substratum or the vegetation whereas the other forms lay lesser spherical eggs in more clusters without any cementing material. The mating behaviour involved in prolonged pre-copulatary act. The riding is either absent or for short duration. Lateral copulation is characteristic feature in the several subfamilies. End to end copulation is a common feature. Adaptive nymphal camouflaging as a defensive behavior is found only among the members of all microhabitat forms. The nymphal cannibalism is uniformly prevalent. Besides, adaptive, structural and behavioural adaptations are found in tropical rain forest forms, the semiarid zone and scrub jungles exhibit biological diversity. The subfamily wise comparatively hatching percentage is higher separately. Tropical rain forest reduviids exhibit higher fecundity and hatchability than their counter parts. Likewise, on the basis of multivoltine with shorter stadia, and univoltine or bivoltine with longer stadia in two forms are differentiated. The incubation and stadial periods are shorter in one group than the other two. Eclosion and emergence periodicities are observed in the forenoon and afternoon whereas in members of other subfamilies are found at dusk.