Record of a new ecological niche for pupation/off-seasonal diapause of mango fruit borer Deanolis albizonalis (Hampson).
Sujatha A.
Author Affiliation: ANGRAU, Agricultural Research Station, Ambajipeta - 533 214, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Insect Environment 13 : 111-112
Abstract : During experimental studies, a mango fruit borer (Deanolis albizonalis) larva in prepupal diapause was observed in the leaf scars on the stems of coconut palms and was masked by the remnants of leaf bases instead of mango trees. These coconut palms were located adjacent to a mango fruit borer-infested mango garden and all the damaged mango fruits were heaped in the coconut palm basins in the regular season, thus an opportunity was created for mango fruit borer larvae to reach the coconut palms. Mango fruit borer larvae, after exiting from the fruits, might have moved into the natural cracks and crevices of the coconut palms in search of a suitable site for diapause. The observation of mango fruit borer larva spending the diapause on coconut palm trunk may be an accidental occurrence because of the availability of coconut palms in the vicinity of the mango garden. However, it would be an indication of the behaviour of the pest to acclimatize to new ecological niche for pupation sites.