Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Identifying crop pests, their scientific names, and their damage patterns is essential for planning targeted pest control strategies.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Dicladispa armigera (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), commonly known as the Rice Hispa, is a major insect pest of rice (*Oryza sativa*) across Asian countries, including India.
The adult beetle is small, blue-black, and covered with distinct spines.
Both the adults and larvae damage the plant:
- The adult beetles scrape the green epidermal tissue from the leaves, leaving characteristic white parallel streaks along the veins.
- The larvae act as leaf miners, burrowing between the epidermal layers of the leaf sheath and feeding on the parenchymatous tissue.
This dual feeding behavior reduces the photosynthetic area of the leaves, causing them to dry up, turn white (giving the field a burnt appearance), and significantly lowering grain yield.
This insect is not a pest of wheat, sugarcane, or gram.
Step 3: Final Answer:
Dicladispa armigera is a major pest of rice, corresponding to option (A).