ABSTRACT
Orchids belong to one of the largest families of flowering plants, Orchidaceae. Orchids are fascinating, diverse, and beautiful of all flowers, and with the added advantage of longevity, these flowers are becoming all the more popular. Of the several limiting abiotic and biotic factors, the insects and other related pests are the major factors to decrease the quality and production of orchids. Based on regular monitoring, orchid plants were found to be infested by several insect pests and mites during certain parts of the year at different levels of infestation. Two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, few scale insects like Biosduval scale (Diaspis biosduvali), Cymbidium scale (Lepidosaphes pinnaeformis), soft brown scale (Coccus hesperidum) and Lecanium scale (Lecanium sp.), aphids (Toxoptera aurantii, Macrosiphum luteum), thrips (Dichromothrips nakahari) were found to infest several orchid species and hybrids. Besides these, Mealybugs, grasshoppers, cockroaches, and snails and slugs were found feeding on flowers at minor levels. This chapter outlines a brief description of insect and non-insect pests found in the Himalayan region along with their hosts, life-cycle, and nature of the damage, seasonal incidence and overall Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Some of the pests described are reported to damage orchids the first time; hence, it may receive great importance in orchid protection in the near future.64
