Lepidopteran natural

enemies in pest management

Ragasruthi M
2020505022
 Introduction
• In Lepidopterans more than 99 % of species of are
phytophagous
• Only about 200 species representing 10 families are known to
be obligate predators or parasites.
Lycaenidae Blastobasidae
Epipyropidae Heliodinidae
Psychidae Tortricidae
Cyclotornidae Geometridae
Pyralidae Noctuidae
Four main types of entomophagous caterpillars

a) Cannibals
 results from hunger or thirst
b) Occasional predators
 species that sometimes attack non-conspecific
caterpillars and scavengers that sometimes take
prey living in the same habitat
c) Habitual predators
 species that regularly feed on homopterans or
insects such as ants
d) Parasites/parasitoids
 few species that undergo either part of, or their
entire development on a single host
 Lycaenidae

Predators Prey
 Feniseca tarquinius  Aphididae
 Spalgis epius  Coccidae ( Pseudococcus )
 Gerydus chinensis  Cicadellidae
 Megalopalpus zymna  Membracidae
 Liphyra brassolis  the immature stages of
 Aslauga oriantalis Formicidae
 Feniseca tarquinius

Host range –
 It feeds in all its larval stages solely upon
aphids, such as Schizoneura , Prociphilus , and
Pemphigus
Life cycle – 3 to 5 generations each year ,
 Egg – laid singly among the aphid colonies ,
always on the underside of the twig
 Larva – newly hatched larva spins a loose web
over its body , beneath the aphids , that is
presumably for protective purposes . Body
covered with waxy material , giving the larva a
woolly appearance
 Pupa – resemble monkey's face

Edwards (1886)
 Spalgis epius

Host range – mealybug

Life cycle
 Egg – deposit its egg among mealybug
 Larva – the older caterpillars resemble
syrphid larvae. Larvae have been
observed even within ant nests ,
feeding upon mealybugs which were
being harbored therein
 Pupa – The pupae are of peculiar form
that resemblance to a monkey's face

. Aitken (1894)
 Miletus chinensis
 Most commonly found among aphids , and
the larvae are stated to consume about 20
individuals per day

Kershaw (1905)

Megalopalpus zymna
 Feed on the nymphs of Cicadellidae and
Membracidae enclosed within the ant
shelters

Lamborn (1914)
 Liphyra brassolis

Host range – green tree ant , Oecophylla

smaragdina
Life cycle
 Egg – deposited in pairs upon the
branches containing ant colonies
 Larva - the young larvae make their
way into the nest & move from nest to
nest during the feeding period .
 Pupa – Pupate in the host nest . The
last larval skin is not discarded but
remains in changed form as an outer
covering for the pupa .
 Adult – covered with an abundance of
loose scales with an oily material

Dodd (1902)
 Ephipyrophidae
• Larvae are ectoparasitoids, the host typically
being fulgoroid plant hoppers
• Their common name is plant hopper parasitic
moths
Bionomics
• Egg – disc like
• Larva – full-grown larva head is extremely
small and retractile, body is ovate, covered
with a waxy secretion
• Pupa – The cocoon is oblong with a convex
surface dorsally and an anterior transverse rift
• Adult – The antennae are bipectinate in both
sexes

Subramaniam ( 1922 )
 Epipyrops anomala – Fulgora candelaria

 E. eurybrachydis – Eurybrachys tomentosa

 Epiricania melalonoleuca – Pyrilla perpusilla

Dodd (1906)
 Psychidae
 Orange bagworm (Cryptothelea gloverii) predaceous upon the
 Camphor scale (Pseudaonidia duplex)
 Soft brown scale (Coccus hesperidum)
 Black scale (Saissetia olea)
 Larvae feed by removing the dorsal coverings completely and
incorporate them into the larval case .

Plank and Cressman (1934)

 Cyclotornidae
 Cyclotorna monocentra
 The young larvae are parasitic or predaceous upon
Cicadellidae , whereas the later stages subsist entirely upon
the body fluids of ant larvae

Dodd (1912)
 Pyralidae
 Creobota coccophthora – Eriococcus
coriaceus
 Phycita dentiltnella – scales, Parasa lepida
(larvae and pupae)
 Dipha aphidivora – Ceratovacuna lanigera
Bionomics
 Egg: laid singly or in-group at the lower
surface of SWA infested leaves
 Larva: The larvae feed on aphids. Larval
period lasts for 20–26 days
 Pupa: pupation takes place inside a straw-
coloured silken cocoon.
 Adult: The adult moths were medium sized
dull to brown coloured with setaceous
antenna.

Ayyar ( 1929 )
 Blastobasidae
 Holcocera iceryaella
 Lecanium persicae
 Icerya purchassi
 Saissetia oleae
 Parthenolecanium persicae
 Pseudococcus bakeri
 Holocera phenacocci
 Coccus colemani

Glover (1933)
 Heliodinidae
 Stathmopoda callichrysa - gall midges, mealybugs
 S. arachnophthora feeds upon spider eggs

 Oedematopoda semirubra – Ceratovacuna lanigera

Hollinger and Parks ( 1919 )

 Tortricidae
Predators
 Tortrix podana - Eriophyes ribis
(gall-mite) Cnephasia spp
 Pammene isocampta - Lecanium
 Cnephasia spp. - Pseudococcus.
 The larvae tunnel among the scales
and eat away the body contents from
beneath . Pammene
isocampta

Lamborn (1914)
 Geometridae
 Eupithecia oblongata – aphids
 E. ortchlorts – small insects, spiders
 E. prasinombra – small insects, spiders
 E. rhodopyra – small insects, spiders
 E. scortodes – small insects, spiders

Montgomery (1982)
 Noctuidae
 Eublemma deserta – Margarodes spp

 E. costimacula - coccids

 E. duma – scales

 E. gayneri – Phenacoccus hirsutus

 Ozopteryx basalis – Coccus spp.

Common (1990)
 Mass Rearing of E. melanoleuca on P. perpusilla
Rearing of P. perpusilla in glass jar
Pyrilla adults are collected from field & reared under laboratory condition at 25˚ to 26˚C
temperature

glass jar having 15X20 cm is taken & the bottom of the jar is filled with 4 to 5 cm thick
layer of sterilized moist sand

Leaf of sugarcane cut about 10 cm long is taken, 6 to 7 per jar is vertically thrust in the
sand layer of glass jar

In each jar, 4-5 pairs of male and female pyrilla collected from the field are released for
egg laying purpose, fresh food is provided for adults for every 4 – 5

The top of the jar is covered with muslin cloth by using rubber band

The eggs laid by the pyrilla collected daily from glass jar with moist camel hair brush

The eggs collected from the jars are glue on the piece of gum tape, having size 5 × 2 cm,
then kept in plastic tube of size 8 × 4 cm for hatching

On hatching of the eggs, the nymphs are transferred daily with the help of a fine hair
brush to same type of glass jar, prepared for rearing adults

The same process should be continued up to adult emergence.

Nymphs and adults of pyrilla are obtained, which could be used for further rearing of an
E. melanoleuca under laboratory in large numbers
Siddhapara (2008)
 Rearing of P. perpusilla in wooden cages

 Rearing of pyrilla is expanded by using wooden cages measuring

45×45×65 cm.
 Lower half, upper half and top of the case is closed with wooden
boards and upper half and top having18 mesh wire screen
 Sterilized moist sand, pieces of leaves, release technique, egg
collection, etc. are same as adopted in glass jar method

glass jar method wooden cage method

Siddhapara (2008)
 Rearing of E. melanoleuca

After production of large number of pyrilla nymphs and adults, field collected egg
mass or cocoons of E. melanoleuca are released in the wooden cage

Fresh leaves of sugarcane are added at 3 to 4 days interval simultaneously, dried

leaves are removed from the cage

By this technique, large scale rearing can be possible and bio-control unit could
harvest more than 10,000 eggs of the ecto-parasites daily, for field release programme

Siddhapara (2008)
 Field release of E. melenoleuca
leaves of sugarcane containing egg mass or cocoons of E. melanoleuca from mass culture
(wooden cage) are collect during morning hours

The leaves are cut into small pieces with the help of scissor. These small pieces are store in
perforated plastic bag.

The small pieces are released in the middle of sugarcane field by stapling on leaves infected
with high population of pyrilla.

This process should be repeated several times within nearby pocket.

Releasing E. melanoleuca @ one lakh eggs (250 egg mass) and 2000 cocoons per hectare area
for effective management

Siddhapara (2008)
 Mass production of Dipha aphidivora on SWA

Erect field cages of size 5x5 m made of 50% shade net & bamboo poles on six months old
sugarcane crop colonized by SWA

After the SWA has been multiplied & covered the plant to the extent of 60 to 70% release 50
grownup larvae or pupae of dipha

The predators will multiply on developing SWA population & about 1500 to 2500 predators can
be harvested from single cage in 60 days

The cages can be relocated to fresh locations for further production of predators

Release of 1000 dipha larvae per hectare

Rabindra (2007)
 Mass production of Spalgis epius
The laboratory culturing method for S. epius larvae on the mealybug infested
pumpkin is similar to that of Cryptolaemus montrouzieri

Venkatesha (2011)
 Mass production of Spalgis epius

Mealy bugs are cultured on red pumpkin of 2.5kg which is soaked in fungicide for 1min

Pumpkins are placed in large cages over stainless steel stands and mealy bug adults are
released

In 1 month mealy bug begin to smother the entire surface of pumpkin

Adults of S. epius are released for oviposition

Then eggs of S. epius will hatch and feed on the mealy bug

Then Pupae and adults are collected for fied release

Venkatesha (2011)
REFERENCE
 Clausen, C.P. (1940) Entomophagous Insects , Mcgraw - Hill book
Publications. Pp: 485 – 497
 Pierce, N.E. (1995) Predatory and parasitic Lepidoptera: Carnivores
living on plants. Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society. 49(4): 412-
453
 Ghorpadei, S. A., Pokharkari, D. S. and Rabindra, R. J. (2007) Mass
production of Dipha aphidivora (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) a
potential predator of sugarcane woolly aphid in shade nets. J. Biol.
Control. 21 (2): 297-300
 Venkatesha, M.G. and Dinesh,A.S. (2011) Mass rearing of Spalgis
epius (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae), a potential predator of mealybugs
(Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae). Biocontrol Science and Technology,
21(8): 929-940
 Siddhapara, M.R. et.at. (2018), Epiricania (=Fulgoraecia)
melanoleuca (Fletcher): A Potent Natural Enemy of Pyrilla perpusilla
Walker. Applied Entomology and Zoology. 1: 19-32