Species diversity and distribution of lepidopteran stem borers in South Africa and Mozambique

Abstract

Country‐wide surveys of lepidopteran stem borers in wild host plants were undertaken between 2006 and 2009 in South Africa and 2005 and 2010 in Mozambique. A total of 4438 larvae were collected from 65 wild host plants in South Africa and 1920 larvae from 30 wild host plants in Mozambique. In South Africa and Mozambique, 50 and 39 stem borer species were recovered, respectively, with four new species and two new genera among noctuids. Less than 5% of the total number of species collected are considered to be economically important in Africa. These species were Busseola fusca (Fuller) (Noctuidae), Chilo partellus (Swinhoe) (Crambidae) and Sesamia calamistis Hampson (Noctuidae). Data from this study and others in East Africa on the very low abundance of stem borers in wild host plants question the putative role of wild host plants as reservoir for stem borer pests. One new host plant family (Prioniaceae), as well as 24 and 13 wild hosts from South Africa and Mozambique respectively, was added to the list of known hosts in Africa.

Assessing the long-term welfare effects of the biological control of cereal stemborer pests in East and Southern Africa: Evidence from Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia

“…Studies have revealed the presence and high diversity of stemborer species in East and Southern Africa (Le Ru et al, 2006a,b;Matama-Kauma et al, 2008;Moolman et al, 2014;Ong'amo et al, 2006), but the most economically important species are the crambid Chilo partellus (Swinhoe), and the noctuids Busseola fusca (Fuller) and Sesamia calamistis Hampson Ong'amo et al, 2006). A summary of their main characteristics is presented in Table 1.…”

Phylogenetic analysis and systematics of the Acrapex unicolora Hampson species complex (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Apameini), with the description of five new species from the Afrotropics

“…Until recently, very little was known about Acrapex host preferences as specimens had been obtained mainly from light trap collections. Extensive surveys conducted since 2004 (Le Ru et al 2006Ru et al a, 2006bOng'amo et al 2006Ong'amo et al , 2013Ong'amo et al , 2014Ndemah et al 2007;Matama-Kauma et al 2008;Moolman et al 2014) in several sub-Saharan countries, targeting wild habitats rich in Poaceae and combining infested host plant collections and light traps, allowed us to obtain several hundred specimens of Acrapex. A recent study by Le Ru et al (2014) focused on a LE RU B. et al, Contribution to Acrapex systematics 3 small group of morphologically related species belonging to subsets of two (groups B and C) of the four morphological groups that have been defined by Berio (1973) based on male genitalia.…”

Diversity and abundance of lepidopteran stem borers and their host plants in Ethiopia

“…Generally, in Ethiopia, stem borer pests estimated to incur yield loss ranging between 20% and 50% (Demissie et al., ; Getu et al., ; Mengistu et al., ; Wale et al., ). In addition to cultivated plants, these pests infest grasses and sedges (Assefa, Conlong, Van Den Berg, & Mitchell, ; Goftishu et al., ; Le Ru, Ong'amo, Moyal, Ngala, et al., ; Moolman et al., ; Ong'amo, Le Gall, Ndemah, & Le Ru, ; Polaszek & Khan, ). Natural habitats surrounding cereal fields in which these wild hosts grow are thus considered as reservoirs for the stem borer pests (Moolman et al., ; Ndemah, Schulthess, Le Ru, & Bame, ; Ong'amo, Le Ru, Calatayud, Ogol, & Silvain, ) and their natural enemies (Mailafiya, Le Ru, Kairu, Calatayud, & Dupas, ; Moolman et al., ).…”

“…In addition to cultivated plants, these pests infest grasses and sedges (Assefa, Conlong, Van Den Berg, & Mitchell, ; Goftishu et al., ; Le Ru, Ong'amo, Moyal, Ngala, et al., ; Moolman et al., ; Ong'amo, Le Gall, Ndemah, & Le Ru, ; Polaszek & Khan, ). Natural habitats surrounding cereal fields in which these wild hosts grow are thus considered as reservoirs for the stem borer pests (Moolman et al., ; Ndemah, Schulthess, Le Ru, & Bame, ; Ong'amo, Le Ru, Calatayud, Ogol, & Silvain, ) and their natural enemies (Mailafiya, Le Ru, Kairu, Calatayud, & Dupas, ; Moolman et al., ). Therefore, understanding the exchange of stem borer pests between cultivated and wild habitats is essential for developing sound stem borer management strategies (Moolman et al., ; Ong'amo et al., , ).…”

“…These results generated from very few studies, and localities suggest that the diversity of the lepidopteran stem borers in Ethiopia may be underestimated. Current knowledge of stem borer species diversity in Ethiopia indicates a lower specific and generic diversity compared to other sub‐Saharan African countries such as Cameroon (Ndemah et al., ; Ong'amo et al., ), Kenya (Le Ru, Ong'amo, Moyal, Ngala, et al., ; Ong'amo et al., ), Mozambique and South Africa (Moolman et al., ).…”