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BIOLOGY OF FRUMENTA NUNDINELLA (LEPIDOPTERA: GELECHIIDAE) ON HORSENETTLE IN VIRGINIA1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

T. E. Bailey
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
L. T. Kok
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061

Abstract

Frurtienta nundinella (Zeller), a moth attacking horsenettle (Solanum carolinense L.) in southwest Virginia, has two generations per year. Overwintering adults oviposited on tips of emerging horsenettle shoots in late May. First generation larvae fed on terminal growth points in mid-June; each was enclosed in a characteristic tight hollow chamber formed from leaves. Pupation occurred in mid-June through July and adults emerged from late June to early August. Larvae of the second generation attacked fruits. A single larva was capable of destroying all the seeds within a berry. Second generation larvae pupated inside the berries, emerging as adults between late August and late September. Early stages of infestation of berries were not easily detected until the larvae had reached 4th instar when the infested berries had a characteristic appearance. Just before the full grown larvae pupated, they formed exit holes covered only by thin membrane in the berries. Although damage to the plants resulted from both modes of. feeding, the infestation rate was low as infested plants were frequently in small isolated patches. Life cycle of the moth from egg to adult was about 50 days per generation.

Résumé

Frumenta nundinella (Zeller), un papillon s'attaquant à Solanum carolinense L. au sud-ouest de la Virginie, a deux générations par an. Les adultes ayant hiverné pondent sur les bouts des nouvelles pousses de S. carolinense tard en mai. Les larves de la première génération se nourrissent sur les pousses terminales à la mi-juin; chaque individu est enfermé dans une logette étroite faite de feuillage. La pupaison a lieu de la mi-juin jusqu'en juillet et l'émergence des adultes de tard en juin jusqu'au début août. Les larves de la second génération se nourrissent des fruits. Une larve peut détruire toutes les graines portées par une baie. Les larves de la second génération s'empupent à l'intérieur des baies, et les adultes émergent entre la fin août et la fin septembre. Les baies attaquées ne sont pas facilement reconnaissables avant le 4ième stade alors qu'elles prennent une apparence caractéristique. Juste avant la pupaison, les larves matures pratiquent dans le fruit un trou de sortie fermé d'une fine membrane. Quoique les plantes attaquées soient endommagées par les deux formes d'alimentation, l'incidence d'infestation est restée faible, les plantes attaquées se trouvant souvent en petites plaques isolées. Le cycle complet de l'oeuf à l'adulte a duré environ 50 jours par génération.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1982

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References

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