Kingdom Animalia Order Butterflies and moths | Class Insecta Phylum Arthropoda Rank Species | |
Similar Indarbela, Butterflies and moths, Xylosandrus morigerus, Polyphagozerra coffeae, Xystrocera | ||
The Bark-eating caterpillar, (Indarbela quadrinotata), is a moth in the Cossidae family. It is found in India and Sri Lanka.
Contents
Description
In male, head and thorax are rufus in color. Fore wings pale rufus with a numerous dark rufus bands of strigae. A spot at end of cell present and those between the median nervure and vein 1b is more prominent. Abdomen and hind wings are fuscous. In female, head, thorax and abdomen are ochreous white. Fore wings are also ochreous white with markings as in male. Hind wings pale, slightly suffused with fuscous with numerous obsolescent brown striage. Caterpillars are pinkish white with brown spots. Pupae are chestnut-brown in color. Eggs oval in shape and reddish.
Ecology
The caterpillar is a serious pest that attacks on more than 30 known crops in the world. Larva bores into the trunk or branches about 15–25 cm of depth. Tunnel created is empty in day time, but filled with caterpillar during the night. It starts damaging bark of the tree resulting dieback of the stem. Frass visible in affected areas.
Crops that are readily attacked by the pest are: Albizia lebbeck, Albizia procera, Anacardium occidentale, Camellia sinensis, Cassia fistula, Chloroxylon swietenia, Citrus reticulata, Citrus sinensis, Citrus x paradisi, Corymbia citriodora, Eriobotrya japonica, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Falcataria moluccana, Ficus benghalensis, Ficus carica, Gmelina arborea, Grewia asiatica, Hevea brasiliensis, Litchi chinensis, Mangifera indica, Manilkara zapota, Mimusops elengi, Mitragyna parvifolia, Moringa oleifera, Morus alba, Phyllanthus emblica, Populus deltoides, Prunus armeniaca, Psidium guajava, Punica granatum, Sesbania cannabina, Syzygium cumini, Tectona grandis, Terminalia arjuna, Theobroma cacao, and Ziziphus mauritiana.
Controlling is mainly taken place in egg stage or larva with first two larval stages. They can be chemically controlled by applying Methidathion. Clones of Casuarina are known to show tolerance and resistance to caterpillars.