Morphometric analysis of Zygogramma bicolorata Pallister (Chrysomelidae: Coleoptera) at Dehradun district of Uttarakhand, India

Zygogramma bicolorata can be used as an effective biocontrol agent against Parthenium hysterophorus (L.Asteraceae), popularly known as carrot grass. It was introduced by Pallister in 1983 in India to curb the growth of Parthenium. Morphological characters of the beetle are studied using a simple scan photo technique. Morphometrics is a crucial methodology for beetle species characterization and discrimination. Such methodologies have been extensively used in beetle-related research. Therefore, standard and geometric morphometric analyses were employed for investigating various body parts of Z. bicolorata. Statistical analysis of various organs, i.e., head length (HL), head width (HW), thorax length(TL), thorax width (TW), abdomen length (AL), abdomen width (AW), elytra length (EL), elytra width (EW), wing length (WL), wing width (WW), leg length (LL), leg width (LW), antennae length (AL), antennae width (AW), foreleg length (FLL), foreleg width (FLW), midleg length (ML), midleg width (MW), hindlegh (HLL), and hindleg width (HLW). The result showed non-significant differences. The scan photo technique is a low-cost, fast, and easier method for morphometric description in insect populations.