Fruit Sucking Moth 2fm67

Presented by – Rahul Chaudhary

Scientific Name: Othreis fullonica (Clerck), Othreis materna (Linnaeus) Family: Noctuidae Order: Lepidoptera

Nature of damage  Adult moth sucks the juice from ripening fruits with the

help of strong proboscis with sharp spines by making puncture after dusk (sun set) during the rainy season.  A circular pinhole like spot appears at the feeding site. Later on, the area around the damaged portion turns yellowish-brown..

Damage symptoms  A circular pinhole like spot appears at the feeding site.  Later on, the area around the damaged portion

turns yellowish-brown.  The punctured fruits are easily infected with bacteria and fungi.  As a result, the fruit rot and falls prematurely.

Mark of identification  The moths have a strong proboscis with sharp spines.  adults of O. fullonica has pale orange brown body

with forewings dark grayish and the hind wings orange red with two black curved patches.  The adult of O. materna has pale greenish gray upper wings with pale white markings and the lower wings with a marginal dark brown region mixed with white spots and a circular dark spot.  The caterpillar is a semilooper, dark brown with yellow and red spots.  Full grown caterpillars are 50 - 60 mm long, stout, velvetyblue with yellow patterns on dorsal and lateral sides and having a hump at anal end.

Larvae & Adult of Fruit sucking moth

Life Cycle  Complete life cycle – 1. Eggs - The moth lays 200-300 eggs on a weed, Tinospora

cardifolia. Egg period is 8 -10 days. 2. Larvae - Full grown caterpillars are 50 - 60 mm long Larval period is 28 – 30 days. 3. Pupa - Pupal period is 14 - 18 days. Pupates on the leaves itself. Pupation takes place in a transparent pale whitish silken cover enclosed in leaf fold. 4. Adult moth - pierces the fruits for sucking the juice and makes characteristic pin-hole damage in fruits. ... Whole fruit turns yellow, drops from tree and looks like a premature fruit. In severe cases, all fruits are lost

Management  Destroy the weed host Tinospora cardifolia and coccules  

 

pendules Bag the fruit with polythene bag (500 gauge) Apply smoke to prevent adult moth Trap crop – growing tomato crop in orchards to attract the adult moth Poison bait  dilute suspension of fermented molasses and malathion

0.05% (50 EC at 1ml/lit)

 Use light trap or food lure to attract moths