The Mythimna spp. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) complex on sugarcane in Mauritius

Code (CO)	MSI99P2369
Author (AU)	Ganeshan, S. Rajabalee, A.
Title - English (ET)	The Mythimna spp. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) complex on sugarcane in Mauritius
Document Type(DT)	Periodical article
Date of publication (DP)	1996
Series (SE)	Proc. S. Afr. Sug. Technol. Ass.
Source (SO)	70, 15-17
Language of text (LT)	En
Language of summaries (LS)	En
Abstract (AB)	An upsurge of damage caused by Mythimna spp. has been observed in recent years in Mauritius. Larvae of Mythimna spp. were collected in 1995 from sugarcane fields in Mauritius and reared in the laboratory in order to clarify confusion in the species taxonomy.The abundance of species from various localities was recorded. Out of 380 moths reared from field collected larvae, 283 M. curvula Walker, 81 M. loreyi Duponchel, 12 M. leucosticha Hampson and 4 M. insulicola Guenée moths were obtained. Overall parasitism of all species was 16,6 per cent and the major parasitoid was Alsomyia anomala Villeneuve (Diptera: Tachinidae). Specimens collected in 1959 from two localities (originally classified as M. loreyi) were also examined and revealed the presence of both the M. loreyi and M. curvula. Burning, mechanical harvesting and trash blanketing appear to favour damage and it is suggested that an increase in these practices has led to the recent upsurge of the pest in Mauritius.
Descriptors - English (DE)	SUGARCANE MYTHIMNA PARASITISM PESTS
Descriptors - Geographic (DG)	MAURITIUS
Sort Key 1(K1)	Sugarcane: Pests, pest control and management
Date record entered (DA)	1997-01-28
Language of analysis (LA)	En
Location (LO)	LIB
Processing status (PS)	CAT
Number of copies (NC)	1
MSIRI Staff (MS)	ENTO