Hairy caterpillars: Euproctis fraterna
Symptoms of damage:
- Cause – defoliation
Identification of the pest:
Euproctis fraterna:
- Larva: Reddish brown hairy caterpillar, head red in colour surrounded by white hairs. The abdomen has tufts of hairs all over the body and a long pre-anal tuft.
- Adult: yellow moth with pale transverse lines and black spots on the forewing
Porthesia scintillans:
- Larva: Larva has a yellowish-brown head with middle red and lateral yellowish stripes on the body. There are tufts of black hairs on the segments between the true legs and prolegs.
- Adult: Small, yellow moth with a reddish tinge and two lighter lines and spots on the border.
Dasychira mendosa:
- Larva: Greyish brown with dark prothoracic and pre-anal tufts, Prolegs crimson coloured
- Adult: Bigger, yellowish brown moth with bulged abdomen.
Management:
- To control early stage larvae, spray neem seed kernel extract (NSKE) 5% or spray chlorpyriphos 2.5 ml quinolphos 2ml or neem oil 5ml/ litre of water.
Source-
- TamilNadu Agritech Portal
