Introduction; Predators; Parasites; Pathogens.

The field guide documents the community of insects that feed on rice in the tropical zone of Asia and complements the IRRI publication "Helpful insects, spiders, and pathogens: friends of the rice farmers." It covers 78 phytophagous species in 64 genera, 27 families, and 8 orders. The phytophage guild represents five groups-general defoliators, (27 species), plant suchers (25 species), early vegetative pests (11 species), soil pests (9 species), and stem borers (6 species). Stem borers and plant suckers comprise the major rice pests. A brief description of each insect's life stage and demage it does to the rice plant is presented for a quick and reliable identification.

Sucking pests are most notorious group of pests for agricultural crops. Unlike most pests with chewing mouth parts, sucking pests cause more severe damage to the crops and are complex to get identified until advanced stages of infection. Not only is this late detection detrimental to their effective control, sucking pests also often cause fungal growth and virus transmission. The book emphasizes on sucking pests of most major crops of India. It aims to reflect Indian scenario before the international readership. This book complies comprehensive information on sucking pests of crops and brings the attention of the readers to this multiple damage causing insect complex. The chapters are contributed by highly experienced Indigenous experts from Universities & ICAR institutes, and book collates useful content for students and young researchers in plant pathology, entomology and agriculture.