Oiketicus kirbyi (Lepidoptera, Psychidae), a key pest in Peruvian orchards of avocado

Abstract

In recent years, the bagworm Oiketicus kirbyi (Guilding) has become a pest of increasing importance in Peruvian avocado orchards. A study conducted in six commercial orchards evaluated the ecology of, and feeding damage caused by, bagworms on avocado on the southern coast of Peru. In March 2009, the population of live individuals at different locations consisted of second to sixth larval instars. The sex-ratio in the previous generation of bagworms (the parents of larvae) was female-biased, and the mortality rate was higher for females than males. The percentage of mated females varied between 76.7 and 99.1% and declined when the proportion of males was low. The damage caused by bagworm larvae usually results from defoliation, but in the case of O. kirbyi on avocado, the presence of larvae on the fruits was associated with blemishes that limit the marketability of fruits; thus bagworms cause direct economic losses for avocado growers. Future studies are needed to assess the timing of larval emergence with a view to preventing widespread infestation by dispersing neonate bagworms.

Female mating failures in insects

“…As predicted by theory, females emerging when and where males are most abundant tend to have a higher mating success (Rhainds et al., 1995b; Higgins, 2000; del Castillo & Núñez‐Farfán, 2002; Muralimohan & Srinivasa, 2010; Rhainds & Cabrera‐LaRosa, 2010), although a broad range of patterns have been documented with regards to the relation between emergence time and female mating success. Late emerging females have a low mating success in protandrous populations due to a shortage of males (Higgins, 2000; Calabrese et al., 2008; Muralimohan & Srinivasa, 2010) (Figure 1A).…”

Molecular phylogeny of Ateleutinae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae): systematics and biogeography of a widespread parasitoid wasp lineage

“…Biology All the females examined for this work were reared from Psychidae; five of them are recorded as parasitoids of Oiketicus kirbyi, a common pest of several crops in South and Central America, including banana, cocoa, oil palm, avocado, citrus and eucalyptus (Rhainds & La Rosa, 2010 Comments Species of Tamaulipeca are similar to the Neotropical Ateleute, from which they can be readily differentiated by the clypeal margin medially pointed (vs. truncate or emarginate medially in Ateleute) and veins 3-Rs and 3-M distinctly divergent (vs. parallel); species of Tamaulipeca also have no trace of the crossvein 3r-m. Tamaulipeca also shows a broader, stouter T1 (see T1WW 2.7-3.0, versus T1LW 2.0-2.4 in Ateleute). The anterior transverse carina of the propodeum is absent in all described species of Tamaulipeca, but the species examined herein has a distinct, though weak, anterior carina (Fig.…”