Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Attevidae Rank Species | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Genus Atteva | |
Similar Atteva, Attevidae, Eligma narcissus, Ailanthus webworm, Paliga | ||
The Ailanthus webworm moth, (Atteva fabriciella), is a moth of the family Attevidae. It is found in China, India and Sri Lanka. It is considered as one of deadliest plant pest on Ailanthus species.
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Reproduction
Females are nocturnal, remained concealed during the day. Small pale green eggs are laid either as single or small groups, usually on young buds and tender leaves. Incubation lasts from 2–3 days according to the season, and emerge 1st instar larva. There are five larval instars, where the larval period may be 13–20 days. Fifth matured larva constructs a loose cocoon and pupates. Color of the pupa changes from orange brown to pale yellow brown. The pupal stage completes after 4–14 days.
Agriculture
Ailanthus webworm is a major insect pest of Ailanthus excelsa causing large scale defoliation in nurseries and plantations. The growth of the tree is severely retarded due to repeated defoliation, and young plants are badly weakened and ultimately seed formation is drastically reduced owing to the damage caused to inflorescence. The pesticide ivermectin which extracted from a soil actinomycete, Streptomyces avermitilis is known to be effective against webworm caterpillars at very low concentrations.