Insect Pests of Vegetable, Ornamental and Spice Crops (2+1)

Leaf caterpillar and Spinach beetle

3. Leaf caterpillar, Eretmocera impactella (Heliodinidae: Lepidoptera)

• Distribution: Distributed in the Indian subcontinent
• Hosts: It is a sporadic pest of amaranthus

Damage

• Caterpillars web the leaves and feed inside

Identification

• Full grown caterpillars are 9-12 mm long, cylindrical, brownish yellow to brownish grey in colour
• Pupae are about 6 mm long and uniformly brown in colour
• Moths have cupreous head and thorax and yellow abdomen with second, third and terminal segments cupreous in colour
• Fore wings are also cupreous with yellow spots, hind wings are pale in colour.
• Wing expanse is 14-18 mm.

Life cycle

• Eggs are laid on leaves preferably on top shoots
• Pupation takes place in white silken cocoons attached to the leaves
• Life cycle is completed in 3-4 weeks.

Control:

• Same as described under Hymenia recurvalis

Minor pests of Amaranthus

Leaf eating caterpillars:

• Hymenia fascialis
• Dichocrocis punctiferalis
• H. perseptalis
• Psara basalis
• Helicoverpa armigera
• Plusia eriosoma
• Spodoptera spp

Aphids:

• Ground nut aphid, Aphis craccivora
• Mustard aphid, Lipaphis erysimi
• Green peach aphid, Myzus persicae

Mealy bug:

• Ferrisia virgata

Scales:

• Coccus hesperidum

Thrips: Aeolathrips collaris

• A. fulvicollis
• Frankliniella intonsa
• Leaf eating beetle, Aspidomorpha exilis
• Leaf twisting weevil, Apoderus transque baricus

INSECT PESTS OF SPINACH

1. Spinach blue beetle, Altica caerulescens (Alticidae: Coleoptera)

• Hosts: Spinach, cabbage, strawberry and plums

Damage

• Freshly emerged grubs scrap and feed on chlorophyll containing tissues
• Later grubs mine inside the leaves and feed on the mesophyll tissue
• Adults nibble the leaf margins causing very little damage.

Identification

• Grubs are 5-10 mm long, dark brown in colour
• Pupae are 12-15 mm long and brown in colour when freshly formed and turns blackish brown later on
• Adults are 5-7 mm long steel blue in colour

Management

• Spray carbaryl @ 0.1% or malathion @ 0.05%
• Observe a waiting period of about 10 days

Minor pest

• Mustard aphid, Lipaphis erysimi
• Green peach aphid Myzus persicae
• Hyadaphis (Siphocoiryne) indobrassicae
• Leaf eating caterpillar, Hymenia recurvalis