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India is predominantly an Agricultural country with over 22 million ha. used for the cultivation of grain legumes, yet the net yield is very less . Vegetables are grown throughout the year and form the main source of proteins, vitamins, minerals and roughage for the population. One of the major constraints in realizing higher yields of vegetable crops is the direct damage caused by insect pests The beetle Raphidopalpa fovecollis Lucas (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in one such pest causes serious damage to cultivated and wild that CUCURBITACEOUS and SOLANACEOUS plants of economic importance. Both the grubs and adults of R. fovecollis cause heavy damage mainly Lagenaria cylindrica, to Cucurbita pepo,Luffa aegyptica, Cucumis utilissmus and Luffa acutanqula. The grubs damage the plants by boring into the roots, underground stems and sometime into the fruits touching the soil. The beetles injure the cotyledons, the flowers and the foliage by biting holes into them. The early sown Cucurbits are so severely damaged that they have to be resown. Adults of R. fovecollis have hemispherical, brown elytra. Dorsal surface of the beetle is brilliant orange red and the ventral surface is black. being clothed in short white hairs. Male beetle is about 6.2 mm in length and 3.4 mm in width. Females are longer in size (length 7.2 mm, width 4mm) than the males. The beetle shows sexual dimorphism. Grubs when full grown, measure about 12 mm in length and 3.5 mm in width across the mesothorax. They are creamy white, with slightly darker shield at the back. It is apparent that a varying elements, balance sugars of and nutrients, amino acids differences concerning growth rate including may mineral account for and survival of pest and insect/plant relationship (Rodriguez, 1960; Auclair et al., 1957; Cibula et al., 1967). Maltais and Auclair, 1957; Evidently the above cited works reveal that insect can evaluate the nutritive composition of foodstuffs on the basis of nutritional superiority. Insect nutrition increase our understanding of insect/plant relationships and can probably suggest ways to protect from insects. Insects' relationship with plants depends on how the latter, as foodstuffs, are able to meet the nutritional requirements of insects for their normal growth, development, reproduction and other vital functions.

In livestock the value of foodstuff for nutrition depends a great deal onthe nutritive ratio(Maynard1937; Morison1941). Likewise, for insects also the nutrient balance, i.e. the proportional relationship between nutrients in foodstuffs is very important (Gordon, 1959; House,1965b).

There is some  evidence to suggest that the relative quantities of nutrients in natural food of insect correspond closely with the relative quantities required by the insect concerned (Verga, 1968; Vanderzant, 1958; Dadd, 1968). For example, it was found (Vanderzant, 1958)that an amino acid mixture quantitatively and qualitatively equivalent to a cotton protein conformed much more suitably with the requirements for growth in Pectinophora gossypiella, that feeds on cotton, than did a mixture equivalent to casein which was quite suitable for growth.

Utilization of food plants was assessed by an experiment designed independently for each food plant. The experiment designed was similar to that of Pandey and Chatterji (1974). The amount of food ingested, digested and assimilated during grub period was assessed by cutting leaves along the midrib into two identical halves, one half was supplied to grubs and the other half was kept without grubs to calculate weight loss due to evaporation of water. The newly hatched grube of known weight per replicate vere transferred to fresh tender leaf discs of known weight of a particular plant in a petridish (15 cm dia.). Food was provided at every 24 h interval until grubs reached second instar, then it was supplied at 12h intervals. Before supplying the other instalment of fresh food, the consumed food and faecal matter released by the grubs were collected and their weight was recorded. The other half portions of the leaves were kept in a petridish which was covered with fine muslin cloth secured with a rubber band. here also, the leaves of known weight were replaced, everytime fresh food was given to the grubs. The weight of the renewed leaves was recorded. The difference in the weight of the leaves after 24 h or 12h, at the case may be, provided that the quantity of water loss from the leaves due to evaporation. The digestible quantity of a particular food constituent was obtained as under : 1. Digested quantity of a particular constituent= Consumed quantity of that constituent - Excreted quantity of the same. 2.The percent digestible nutrients and the nutritive ratio were calculated by following expressions:Quantity of proteins/fats/carbohydrates digested %digestible proteins/ fats/carbohydrates=- x100 Quantity of proteins/ fats/carbohydrates consumed %digestible carbohydrate+%digestible fats x 2.25Nutritive Ratio= % digestible protein. 3.The proportion of the quantity of proteins to quantities of carbohydrates and fats available after digestion was calculated as DPDNP Ratio as given below : Quantity of digested proteins DPDNP Ratio=-- Quantity of digested carbohydrates+ Quantity of digested fats.

The data obtained from the test are analysed stasticaly. The nutritive and DNDNPRatios of Cucurbits with reference to Raphidopalpa fovecollis are as shown in table below- 

Table

Plants	Nutritive Ratio	DPDNP Ratio
Cucurbita pepo	2.2563	0.488
Cucumis utilissmus	2.9584	0.229
Lagenaria cylindrica	2.2778	0.527
Luffaa acutangula	*	*
Luffaa aegyptiaca	-	-
Momordica charantia	-	-

*:Records could not be obtained as grabs died before pupation

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