Outbreak of the looper, perixera illepidaria (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) on litchi, litchi chinensis (Sapindales: Sapindaceae) - A new pest record from India

Abstract

An outbreak of a looper, identified as Perixera illepidaria (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) was observed on litchi trees in Bihar state of India during Sep to Nov both in 2011 and 2012. Loopers fed voraciously on young leaves leaving behind only the midribs. During Oct 2011, trees having highly damaged canopies (> 50% top foliage damage) ranged between 0.7 to 29.4%, while partially damaged (< 50% foliage damage) tree were 1.4 to 20.8% at the Experimental Farm of National Research Centre for Litchi, Bihar, India. During Oct 2012, the incidence of looper infested trees in farmers' field varied from 34.1 to 84.5%., and up to 39.4% trees were in the 81-100% damaged foliage category. The mean number of larvae per 10 leaflets varied from 0.6 to 14.7. The developmental period from larvae to adult ranged from 15 to 19 days. The geographical range of this species had been N.E. Himalaya, Hong Kong, Sundaland, Philippines, Sulawesi and Guam. This is the first report on the occurrence of P. illepidaria on litchi in India.