Some lepidopterous pests of eucalyptus trees from Japan

Abstract

Seven species of Lepidoptera - Tortricidae: Adoxophyes honmai Yasuda, Lobesia aeolopa Meyrick and Strepsicrates semicanella (Walker); Geometridae: Ectropis excellens (Butler) and Hyposidra talaca (Walker); and Lymantriidae: Orgyia postica (Walker) and Lymantria dispar albescens Hori et Umeno - were reared from larvae injurious to Eucalyptus spp. (Myrtaceae) cultivated in Japan. A. honmai, L. aeolopa, E. excellens, H. talaca and Ly. dispar albescens were newly recorded as pests of Eucalyptus spp. Strepsicrates rhothia (Meyrick), which had been considered a pest of Psidium guajava in Japan, was shown from the male genitalic characters to be really St. semicanella, distributed in Malaysia and Australia. The record of occurrence of St. rhothia in Japan was expunged. St. semicanella, hitherto recorded in Japan only from Okinawa, was recorded from a greenhouse of cultivated eucalyptus trees at Nagoya, Honshu. The immatures were inferred to have invaded the greenhouse from young eucalyptus leaves transferred from Nago, Okinawa-jima Is. Larvae of the three tortricid and two geometrid species were illustrated, and the distinguishing characters among the tortricids were given. The genitalia and immature stages of St. semicanella were described for the first time.