Insect Pests of Fruit, Plantation, Medicinal & Aromatic Crops (2+1)

3. Bark caterpillar

3. Bark caterpillar - Indarbela tetraonis Moore. (Metarbelidae: Lepideptera)

Damage

• The grub bores into the bark and sap wood making zig-zag galleries filled with silken webbed masses comprising chewed up materials and excreta.
  
• In severe infestation the flow of sap is interfered.
  
• The growth of the plant is arrested and fruit formation capacity is drastically reduced.

Bionomics

• The adult moth is pale brown with rufous head and thorax.
• The female lays eggs in masses of 15-25 under loose bark of the trees.
• A single female lays about 2000 eggs in her life span.
• The egg period is 8-10 days.
• The newly hatched larva is dirty brown while the full grown caterpillars have pale brown bodies with dark brown head measuring 50-60 mm in length.
• The larval period is 9-11 months.
• It pupates inside the tunnel for 3-4 weeks.
• The adult moth emerges during summer.