Vol. 7, Issue 2, Part C (2025)

The present study investigates the population dynamics of rove beetle (Paederus fuscipes) in paddy fields across different locations during the Kharif seasons of 2022 and 2023. The study was conducted in Palpur, SHUATS, and Korsand to analyze the seasonal abundance of rove beetles and their correlation with weather parameters. Observations revealed that the rove beetle population first appeared in the 37^th Standard Meteorological Week (SMW) and persisted until the 44^th SMW. The beetle population, recorded in terms of beetles per hill and percentage beetle population, varied across locations and years. In Palpur, the population ranged from 0.56 (0.14%) to 0.97 (0.24%) in 2023 and from 0.60 (0.15%) to 1.07 (0.27%) in 2022, peaking in the 42^nd SMW. Similar trends were recorded in SHUATS and Korsand, where the beetle population peaked during the third week of October before declining in early November. Weather parameters such as temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, wind velocity, and sunshine hours were analyzed for their influence on beetle populations. The pooled data from 2022 and 2023 indicated that the population increased with rising temperatures and sunshine hours while showing a decline with increasing rainfall and wind velocity. Correlation analysis revealed that rove beetle populations were positively correlated with evening relative humidity (r=0.515) and mean relative humidity (r=0.438), while negative correlations were observed with maximum temperature, mean temperature, rainfall, and wind velocity. The findings suggest that weather conditions play a crucial role in determining the population dynamics of rove beetles, influencing their role as natural enemies in rice ecosystems. Understanding these ecological interactions can contribute to the development of sustainable pest management strategies by enhancing the effectiveness of natural predators like rove beetles in controlling paddy insect pests.