Assignment: Insect Pests of Horticultural Crops (Part 1)

9/6/2020
Insect Pests

Many insects are pests to human when they compete with man for his agricultural products, destroy his property,
transmit diseases to him as well as his animals and crop plants, and become a general nuisance to him. In the
previous exercises we have studied the external morphology of an insect and learned to identify the insect orders by
using dichotomous keys. Today we will identify the injury symptoms caused by insect pests. Fill in the blanks given
below and submit your answers in putrablast by 16/6/2020.

A. Major pests of vegetables

Scientific name Common name Insect Order Injury symptom

Plutella xylostella Diamondback Lepidoptera Larvae feed on the underside of leaves, leaving
moth many holes. Effected leaves show tiny shiny
holes.

Spodoptera litura Tobacco Lepidoptera The young larvae first feed gregariously and
caterpillar scrape the leaves. Older larvae spread out and
may completely devour the leaves.

Hellula undalis Webworm Lepidoptera The webworm tunnel into the main stem.
Effected brown patches of closely clipped leaves

Maruca vitrata Maruca pod Lepidoptera Round holes are produced in the corolla of the
borer flowers by the larvae and the pods are distorted
by larger larvae and affected by frass.

Earias fabia Spiny bollworm Lepidoptera Drying and drooping of terminal shoots during
pre-flowering stage.

Leucinodes Brinjal borer Lepidoptera Feeding on flowers, flower buds and young shoot
orbonalis tips and stems. The small entrance holes closed
by dried excrement.

Sylepta derogata Cotton leaf roller Lepidoptera The leaves are rolled in the form of trumpets
fastened by silken threads and the marginal
portion of leaves eaten away by them. The plants
defoliated in severe attack.
Aphis spp. Aphid or Hemiptera They suck the fluids from leaves and flowers that
greenfly the plant uses to distribute nutrients. Effected
wilting the plants.

Liriomyza spp. Leaf miner flies Diptera Feeding punctures on the upper side of the leaves
appear which wilting may occur, especially in
seedlings.
Tetranychus Spider mite Trombidiformes Appear as small yellow dots on the lower leaves
truncatus of the plants. Effected the infested leaves to turn
brown and the leaf will die and fall from the
plant.

B. Major pests of fruits

Scientific name Common name Insect Order Injury symptom

Erionota thrax Palm redeye or Lepidoptera Parts of the leaves of trees are incised and rolled
banana skipper up.

Bactrocera spp. Fruitfly Diptera These fruitfly bore into semi-ripen fruits with
decayed spots and dropping of fruits. Which
resulted brownish rotten patches on fruits.

Citripestis Citrus fruit borer Lepidoptera The larvae penetrate the rind of the fruit and eat
sagittiferella just below the surface then making a loosely
woven silken tube around them. Effected in
rotting and premature fall of the fruit.

Prays endocarpa Citrus flower moth Lepidoptera The larvae eating into the flower organs by
webbing them together. Damaged flower buds
and flowers quickly wilt and are shed.

Deporaus Mango leaf- Coleoptera They scrape the surface layers of mango leaves
marginatus cutting weevil which turn brown, crumple and become
contorted. The infested shoots become almost
leafless.
Chlumetia Mango shoot borer Lepidoptera They eat young leaves and then bores into the
transversa midrib and terminal shoots. Heavy infestation
results in leaf abscission and wilting of shoots.

Dysmicoccus Mealybug Hemiptera The mealybugs feed in the floral cavities on fruit
brevipes and on the crown leaves. Effected wilting of
leaves followed by a definite color change from
red to pink