Question

Which lac secreting insect undergoes death after reproduction?

• A. Male
• B. Female
• C. Worker
• D. None of the above

Answer 1

The correct option is A Male

Laccifer lacca is the commercially cultured lac insect. Female insect is viviparous, producing about 1000 nymphs, deep red in colour with black eyes. The larvae settle down on a suitable place of the host plant gregariously. A day or two after settlement, the larvae start secreting lac all around the body except on the rostrum, spiracles and on the tip of abdomen. Thus, it gets encased in a cell of lac which gradually increases in size along with the increase in size of the insect. The insect moults twice before reaching maturity. The male larvae produce elongated lac cells while the females produce oval cells. After the first moult larvae lose their legs, antennae and eyes and become bag-like. After the 3rd moult, the larvae pass on to a pseudo-pupal stage. Males emerge and copulate with the females and die. The female larvae never regain appendages and continue to remain under the lac cell, become adults and reproduce. As the lac insects remain close together, lac secretion from adjacent cells coalesces with each other and forms a continuous encrustation on the tree branch.