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

2. Citrus butterfly

2. Citrus butterfly -Papilio demoleus Linn and P. polytes ( Papilionidae : Lepidoptera)

Damage

• The young larvae found on the upper surface of leaves and feed on the leaf lamina from margin to mid rib.
• The grown up caterpillar feeds even on matured leaves and cause severe defoliation to the entire plant.





Bionomics

• The adult butterfly is a black and yellow swallow tailed.
• The female lays singly or in groups of 2-3 eggs on leaves.
• The fecundity is 183 eggs per female.
• The incubation period is 8-6 days.
• The caterpillar is yellowish ¬green with horn like structure on the dorsal side of the last body segment.
• The larval period is 8-16 days.
• The full grown larva spins a girdle around its body and pupates on a twig.
• The pupal period is 8-11 days.
• There are four to five overlapping generation in a year.
Management

• Hand picks and destroys the larvae.
• Spray dimethoate 0.03 % / litres when the infestation is moderate to severe.
• Spray carbaryl 0.1% or dimethoate 0.03 % or NSKE 5%
• Encourage activity of egg parasitoids, Trichogramma sp., Telenomus sp., and larval parasitoid, Apanteles spp. Charops sp. and Brachymeria sp.