Fruit-piercing moths of genus Eudocima Billberg, 1820 (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Calpinae) in Nepal, and an observation of sweet orange losses due to E. phalonia in Sindhuli, Nepal

Abstract

Fruit-piercing moths are developing serious insect pests in the horticultural fruits of Nepal. Asia, Africa and Australia, in global scenario, are suffering of these moth pests in horticulture. An authentic documentation developed of these pests out of different scattered scientific sources in Nepal and published elsewhere is the objective of this review paper. Analytical results of the dominantly primary fruit-piercing moth species of genus Eudocima Billberg, 1820 recorded in the national physiological regions in course of the moth surveys and their collections by the national and international institutions on the spatial duration from 1968 to 1998 are presented in this paper. Eight species of Eudocima, namely E. homaena (Hubner), E. hypermnestra (Stoll), E. materna (Linnaeus), E. okurai (Okano), E. phalonia (Linnaeus), E. salaminia (Cramer), E. sikhimensis (Butler) and E. tyrannus (Guenee) are found spread over the different altitude regimes of the physiological regions ranging from 450 to 3540 m of four provinces, namely Koshi, Madhesh Pradesh, Bagmati and Gandakı of Nepal. Siwalik hill (200-1000 m), Middle hill (1000-2000 m), Upper hill (2000-3000 m) and High mountain (3000-4000 m) of the country, respectively, are found to exist fruit piercing moths, E. homaena, E. hypermnestra, E. phalonia, and E. salaminia (4 species); E. homaena, E. materna, E. okurai. E. phalonia, E. salaminia, E. sikhimensis and E. tyrannus (7 species); homaena, E, materna, E. phalonia, E. salaminia, E. sikhimensis and E. tyrannus (6 species), and E. materna, E. phalonia, and E. salaminia (3 species). E. phalonia and E. salaminia moths are reportedly existed right from Siwalik hill to High mountain physiological regions of Nepal. A preliminary estimate of sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) mean loss in the selected orchards during the local outbreak in 2023 of E. phalonia in the Kamalamai Municipality, Ward 3 and Golanjor Rural Municipality, Wards 2, 4 and 5 of Sindhuli district was 82.0±5.8%