Biology and control of the groundnut leafminer, Aproaerema modicella (Deventer) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)

Abstract

The g r~)~~n d r~c~t I~,:~tniincr. ,.?~~rocrtr-c~rt~ri rtroclrii'l!i.r (Ilcvcntcr) (I.cpidoptera: (iclcchlldac). I\ ;In 1ri1lxnta111 pC\1 of \cvcr;ll lcyl~rnc crop\ in South anil So~~th-I:a\t A\ia. For grountlnut. \iclll loh\c\ of --.511",, h ;~\ c Ihcxcn rclx>rtc(l 11. ;~d d~t~o n (1) grouriclnut and \o\hci111 (the main crops att;~ckcd). I2 ;iltcrr~;~t~\c lio\~ plants h;~vc t~,clr :i~por-tctl ,I, r~rr~ilrccllo I S prc\cnt t h r o~t g h~~~t tlic rcgioli. ;iIthough it ha\ licc~i \~L I~I L~ rr~o\t iri~cnsivrl~ i n 11id1;1 :11icI '~I I ; I I I~I I I~I I<c\c;ircti concl~~ctccl (ncr r h c p21st 10 >car\ ha\ ~>ri)\i~lctl ;I g(>od untlcrsti~ndir~g of tllc hioloy!. l~fc c . \ t l c and natur,~l cncnllcs o f thi5 pest. Rc\carch on rnani~gcn~i~nt ha\ Iocu\ctl oil chi,rriical corntrol. l'hi\ p;ipcr rcvicw thc litcr;~turc on thc hu\t plant\. rli\trit)ution. I?~trlogy ;~ncl i~ontrol of .4 rr~o~lrr~rllu. cmpt~;~si;.iny rc\~,:~rch rcpt~rtcd .;lnec 1 W I A\pcct\ of .,I. 11r~11!1r~~110 ccoll~g\ t l l i~t i~t.cd l~~i t l i~,~ \ILICI> , I I L~ aI\o I I I c I I~~~I~~L I . Keywords Groundnut Atachrs Aproa~rema rnod~celia qroundnut leafmtner natural enemles biology host plants Taxonomy and distribution The groundnu1 Izafm~ncr ((;LI\I), ,.lprotrc,r.c~rr~(~ tnotiicc~llu (L)c\'cnter) ( I cpicloptcr;~: Ciclcchiid;~c), i\ a scrious pc\t ot gr'ouridnut ;rntl \oybe;~n in So~crh :tnd South-Ea\t A s i ;~ (W~ghtnian (,/ (11.. IOVO). Arnln ( IOSi) has callcd i t thC most impc~rtarit grounclnut pc.;t in India. Originally clcscril>ed ;i.; ilrtrrcc~rrlpsi,~ ric~r/c,r.in Meyr. Iron1 specimens collcctcd in India (Mcyrick. 1006). five othcr binomial\ have rclcrr-cd to the silrnc pcst: Hilohri .~~rh.rc~r~i~~clltr~ Zcllcr. .S/orr~optcr,~.r rtc,rtclrlci Mcyr.. S/otnol,/r.ry.\ trr,r/nrin M q r . . S/orriop/rrv.\ .s~cOst~c~ii~c~lln Zellcr. and AprcjclrrcJr7llr tir7rtcria Meyr. 'The ~~n c c r t a i n taxonomy was due to the euistcncc of Iwo, nun-congcricric leaf-miners: onc from South Africa is now c;~llcd ,S/ornol~/rry.r .snl~.rc~c~i~~c~lla (%cller) : rhc second is the Indian-Indonesian groundnut Ic;ifminer, Aproctercrli~u rliiodic.e~llii (Dcventcr) [ J . I).

Using morphological characteristics to distinguish between male and female larvae and pupae of the groundnut leafminer,Aproaerema modicella(Deventer) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)

“…The differences observed between male and female larvae confirmed observations by Shanower et al (1993) that the presence of pink coloured gonads in the region of the sixth and seventh abdominal segments was a distinguishing characteristic of male larvae. The gonads are easily visible through the cuticle even with the naked eye (Figure 1).…”

“…High larval infestation levels result in large scale defoliation which may affect growth and yield of plants (Kenis & Cugala, 2006). No crop loss assessments have been done in South Africa but groundnut pod yield loss caused by GLM infestation was reported to be between 30-60% in India (Shanower et al, 1993;Muthiah & Kareem, 2000).…”

“…Research on oviposition behaviour and host plant preference of this pest is hampered by the fact that sexes cannot be distinguished easily. Shanower et al (1993) report that males and females can be distinguished during the larval stage by the presence of pink gonads of the male which are visible through the cuticle. No further detail was provided.…”

“…Larvae were observed using a light microscope to determine differences between males and females. Male and female larvae were identified based on the characteristics indicated by Shanower et al (1993) and were photographed under a stereomicroscope. These individuals were reared individually on groundnut leaves until they reached the pupal stage.…”

First report of groundnut leafminer, Aproaerema modicella (Deventer) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) on groundnut, soybean and lucerne in South Africa

“…subsecivella Zeller, modicella and nerteria Meyr. (Shanower, Wightman & Gutierrez, 1993). However, specimens from South Africa were identified by the British Natural History Museum, London, England as A. modicella.…”