Bamboo Sap Feeder pest outbreak in Kerala – Burning Issues

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Bamboo Sap Feeder

A pest outbreak has triggered panic amid the farming community living on the forest fringes in Wayanad district.
The outbreak has been reported at Valluvady area in Noolpuzha grama panchayat. Huge swarms of insects landed on trees and shrubs in nearly two acres of agricultural land near the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary.

Residents were worried about the creatures causing allergy or spreading diseases as an offensive stench emanated from the insects.
After primary observation, the insect was identified as a bamboo sap feeder or bamboo seed bug, Udonga montana.

The bug is nearly 13-mm-long with yellowish brown colour. It multiplies in large numbers on bamboo, feeding on the shoot and seeds.
They affect the regeneration of bamboo as the developing seeds are affected. The bugs lay eggs in clusters on the flowers.

The outbreak in Valluvadi area coincided with the mass flowering of bamboo that provided abundant food.
Exhaustive feeding on bamboo by the bug has severely affected the flowering and seedling cycle of bamboo in the area which is likely to affect its natural reproduction. So far, no serious feeding injury or yield losses to agricultural crops in the area had been observed
In natural stands of bamboo, the pest populations are regulated by natural enemies.
However, human intervention can have profound effects on the ecological balance and the population dynamics of insects in bamboo forest ecosystems.
The pest outbreak was expected to die down within a few weeks due to natural causes.
Udonga montana is a species of bug found in parts of Asia. Large populations and aggregations are found during some years and in parts of northeastern India, their outbreaks are associated with the mass flowering of bamboo.
They are traditionally collected and eaten in some parts of their range and in Mizoram they are known locally as thangnang.

The Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary is an animal sanctuary in Wayanad, Kerala, India.
It is the second-largest wildlife sanctuary in Kerala.
Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the safest havens for different species of vultures like the White-rumped Vultures and the Red-headed Vultures