Occurrence of the moraceae-feeding bombycid, trilocha varians(walker) (bombycidae, lepidoptera) as pest of jackfruit and some ornamental species of ficus in the Philippines

Issue Date

1-2013

Abstract

The occurrence of the bombycid moth, Trilocha varians (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) was observed and monitored among Ficus benjamina and F. nitida in the landscape of the National Crop Protection Center from August to December 2012. Eggs, larvae and pupae of the pest were all present on the infested shrubs. The larvae completely defoliated and eventually killed some of the Ficus plants. At the peak of infestation, larvae can consume all of the leaves of an individual shrub in just overnight. T. varians was also observed infesting jackfruit in Los Baños, Laguna and Balete, Batangas as well as on F. nitida in Baguio City. The nature of damage, host response and host range were discussed. This is the first record of T. varians as pest of Artocarpus heterpphyllus, A. communis, A. kamansi and some ornamental species of Ficus in the Philippines.

Source or Periodical Title

Journal of the International Society for Southeast Asian Agricultural Sciences

ISSN

0859-3132

Volume

19

Issue

2

Page

41-48

Document Type

Article

Physical Description

illustrations, tables

Language

English

Subject

Damage, Host range, Invasive pest

Digital Copy

yes

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