''Epiricania melanoleuca'' is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

in the family

Epipyropidae The Epipyropidae comprise a small family of moths. This family and the closely related Cyclotornidae are unique among the Lepidoptera in that the larvae are ectoparasites, the hosts typically being fulgoroid planthoppers, thus the common name ...

. It was described by Thomas Bainbrigge Fletcher in 1939. It is found in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, where its larvae are external parasitoids of the sugarcane planthopper (''Pyrilla perpusilla''). It has been used in

biological pest control Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also invo ...

against this

pest Pest or The Pest may refer to: Science and medicine * Pest (organism), an animal or plant deemed to be detrimental to humans or human concerns ** Weed, a plant considered undesirable * Infectious disease, an illness resulting from an infection ** ...

Description

The adult ''E. melanoleuca'' is a small, dark grey, moth with short, broad wings giving it a triangular outline. The male has a whitish margin to both pairs of wings, while the female has slatey-grey forewings and dark grey hindwings. The wingspan is in females, and slightly less in males. The antennae are bipectinate (have comb-like lateral processes on both sides). The larvae are at first campodeiform, having a long flattened body, legs and antennae, but the later

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...

s are fleshy and ellipsoidal; they are concealed by the white waxy filaments they secrete. The pupa is concealed in an oval, white, silken cocoon.

Distribution

''Epiricania melanoleuca'' is native to India, occurring in the drier parts of the

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

-growing area. It also occurs in Pakistan and Bangladesh, and has been introduced into Sri Lanka.

Ecology

The larvae of ''E. melanoleuca'' are

parasitoid In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...

s on the sugarcane planthopper (''Pyrilla perpusilla''). The moth's eggs are laid on the surface of the leaves on which the planthopper and its nymphs are feeding. Fecundity of the female moth is in the range 400 to 800. On hatching, the moth larvae attach themselves with their prolegs to the edge of a leaf and hold themselves erect, questing for a suitable host. When one is found, they attach themselves to the planthopper nymph with hooked claws, pierce the cuticle with their mouthparts and suck out the

hemolymph Hemolymph, or haemolymph, is a fluid, analogous to the blood in vertebrates, that circulates in the interior of the arthropod (invertebrate) body, remaining in direct contact with the animal's tissues. It is composed of a fluid plasma in which ...

. When the moth larvae are fully grown, after four or five moults, they can be seen as conspicuous, white bulges on the surface of the host. They then detach from their hosts, which dies at around this time, and pupate on the surface of a leaf near the ground.

Use in biological control

''Epiricania melanoleuca'' can be used in

. When it has been introduced to areas of India where it does not naturally occur, the incidence of the sugarcane planthopper has been reduced. The moth can be bred in the laboratory, and eggs can be transferred on leaves, or cocoons can be collected from fields and transferred. In a research study in

Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sch ...

, peak planthopper activity was observed in September. A parasite/pest ratio of 1:64 in late August was converted into a ratio of 1:0.25 in late October, indicating control of the pest. As well as the natural suppression of the pest, there is a considerable saving to be made by reducing the use of insecticides on the sugarcane crop.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q20686794 Epipyropidae Moths of Asia Moths described in 1939