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The article offers information on the fish feeding bahavior of Rhesus macaque located in several mangrove swamps in Sundarban, India. The author mentions how these macaques adapted to live with human beings in the country. The author considers these monkeys as generalist in terms of feeding behavior, denoting its adaptability in eating fishes.

Two predaceous species of Coccinellidae, Menochilus sexmaculatus and Coccinella transversalis, occurred abundantly in bean crops infested with the aphid, Aphis craccivora Koch in north-east India. The number of eggs and adults of the two coccinellids increased in response to the increase in the population of aphid prey. Reproductive numerical responses were found to be synchronous to prey density whereas aggregative numerical responses appeared asynchronous in the later part of the aphid cycle on beans. Menochilus sexmaculatus oviposited smaller clusters of eggs at lower density of aphids than C. transversalis which laid larger clusters and showed greater numerical response at higher densities of aphids. Within a species cluster the size of the eggs seems to be directly related to aphid density. The two coccinellid species of this study seem to be efficient predators of A. craccivora in terms of their reproductive and aggregative numerical responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several wildlife sanctuaries in the world are home to the surviving populations of many endemic species. Trishna wildlife sanctuary in northeast India is protected by law, and is home to the last surviving populations of Asian bison (Bos gorus Smith), spectacle monkey (Trachypithecus phayrie Blyth), capped langur (Trachypithecus pileatus Blyth), slow loris (Nycticebus coucang Boddaert), wild cat (Felis chaus Schreber), and wild boars (Sus scrofa L.), among many other animals and plants. The sanctuary was explored for species richness and diversity of butterflies. A six-month-long study revealed the occurrence of 59 butterfly species that included 21 unique species and 9 species listed in the threatened category. The mixed moist deciduous mature forest of the sanctuary harbored greater species richness and species diversity (39 species under 31 genera) than other parts of the sanctuary, which is comprised of regenerated secondary mixed deciduous forest (37 species under 32 genera), degraded forests (32 species under 28 genera), and open grassland with patches of plantations and artificial lakes (24 species under 17 genera). The majority of these species showed a distribution range throughout the Indo-Malayan region and Australasia tropics, and eight species were distributed in the eastern parts of South Asia, including one species, Labadea martha (F.), which is distributed in the eastern Himalayas alone. Estimator Chao 2 provided the best-predicted value of species richness. The steep slope of the species accumulation curve suggested the occurrence of a large number of rare species, and a prolonged gentle slope suggested a higher species richness at a higher sample abundance. The species composition of vegetation-rich habitats showed high similarity in comparison to vegetation-poor habitats.

Density, distribution, and nutritional quality of plants are the causal basis of host plant selection in aphids. Nutritional qualities of a plant vary according to its growth stage and also in response to seasonal variation. How host plant growth stages shape aphid performance was studied in Aphis spiraecola Patch (Homoptera: Aphididae) on the perennial Siam weed, Chromolaena odorata (L.) King and Robinson (Asterales: Asteraceae). This plant species is the preferred host in the hot and humid tropical parts of northeast and southern India. Variations in developmental and reproductive performances in apterous viviparous female aphids were recorded in relation to differences in leaf chemicals in different growth stages of C. odorata. Aphids reproduced at higher rates in the vegetative stage of C. odorata when developmental time was shortest, and fecundity was higher in a longer reproductive time. Intrinsic rate of increase and net reproductive rate were also recorded to be higher in the vegetative stage of the weed host. In the vegetative stage, leaves contained higher quantity of proteins and nitrogen, which are vital for insect reproduction. Results of this study have demonstrated that A spiraecola showed synchronization of its developmental and reproductive performances to growth stages of C. odorata, which occur in high abundance in the study area.