Biology of mango leaf webber, Orthaga exvinacea.
Beria N. N., Acharya M. F., Kapadia M. N.
Author Affiliation: Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, Junagadh Agricultural University Junagadh 362 001, India.
Annals of Plant Protection Sciences 16 : 218-219
Abstract : The females laid in cluster on upper surface of the mango leaf near the midrib. Eggs were oval, somewhat flat at the base and yellowish green in colour. The egg masses were covered by fluffy type of anal secretion. The egg duration averaged 3.16±0.81 days with a range of 2 to 4 days. The newly-hatched larvae were pale grey with pinkish head capsule and dark prothorax. The larval body was covered with sparsely distributed fine setae arising from light coloured warts. The full grown larvae were dark green in colour. A black band across the thorax and several transverse bands on the lateral side were clearly visible. The total larval duration lasted for 31.57±2.08 days ranging from 28 to 35 days. The full grown larvae constructed a silken cocoon for pupation. The pupation took place inside the folded leaves of webbed foliage. The pre-pupal period ranged for 2 to 5 days with an average of 3.78±0.4 days, was dark brown in colour. The pupal duration was averaged to 13.33±1.68 days and ranged from 11 to 20 days. The moth was medium in size and grey in colour. The wings were blackish with dark patches. The females were bigger than the males. The male and female moths survived on an average of 3.53±0.62 days and 4.40±0.95 days, respectively. A single female laid an average of 55.43±2.81 eggs with a range of 15 to 75 eggs. The sex ratio was 1.11 male:1 female. Thus, the pest completed its life cycle (eggs to adult death) within 55.79 days.