''Naranga diffusa'', the rice green semilooper, 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 ...

of the family

Noctuidae The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family of moths. They are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly changing, along with the other f ...

. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1865. It is found in many agricultural based countries such as

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, the

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, the

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Description

Palpi with second joint reaching above vertex of head and smoothly scaled, and third joint minute. Antennae somewhat thickened, annulate and minutely ciliated in male. Thorax and abdomen tuftless. Forewings with stalked veins 7, 8 and 9. Hindwings with veins 3 and 4 from cell or on a short stalk. Adult has creamy coloured wings with two distinctive oblique bars of brown on the forewing. At the time the eggs are laid, they are yellowish, however the eggs develop purple markings when mature. Caterpillars are green or yellow green. There are narrow white lines which run along the body.

Biology

The caterpillars are considered to be pests that attack crops such as ''

Echinochloa colona ''Echinochloa colona'', commonly known as jungle rice, deccan grass, or awnless barnyard grass, is a type of wild grass originating from tropical Asia. It was formerly classified as a species of ''Panicum''. It is the wild ancestor of the culti ...

'', ''

Echinochloa crus-galli ''Echinochloa crus-galli'' is a type of wild grass originating from tropical Asia that was formerly classified as a type of panicum grass. It is commonly known as cockspur (or cockspur grass), barnyard millet, Japanese millet, water grass, common ...

'', ''

Eleusine indica ''Eleusine indica'', the Indian goosegrass, yard-grass, goosegrass, wiregrass, or crowfootgrass, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae. It is a small annual grass distributed throughout the warmer areas of the world to about 50 degrees lat ...

'', ''

Leersia hexandra ''Leersia hexandra'' is a species of grass known by the common names southern cutgrass, clubhead cutgrass, and swamp rice grass.

'', ''

Leptochloa chinensis ''Leptochloa chinensis'', commonly known as red sprangletop, Asian sprangletop, or Chinese sprangletop, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae. It is a serious weed of rice. It is native to regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Places it ...

'', ''

Oryza sativa ''Oryza sativa'', commonly known as Asian rice or indica rice, is the plant species most commonly referred to in English as ''rice''. It is the type of farmed rice whose cultivars are most common globally, and was first domesticated in the Yan ...

'', ''

Paspalum conjugatum ''Paspalum conjugatum'', commonly known as carabao grass or hilo grass, is a tropical to subtropical perennial grass. It is originally from the American tropics, but has been naturalized widely in tropical Southeast Asia and Pacific Islands. It h ...

'', ''

Paspalum distichum ''Paspalum distichum'' is a species of grass. Common names include knotgrass, water finger-grass, couch paspalum, eternity grass, gingergrass, and Thompson grass. Its native range is obscure because it has long been present on most continents, an ...

'' and ''

Sorghum bicolor ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a Poaceae, grass species cultivated for its grain, which is used for food for humans, animal feed, and ethan ...

''. They feed on external tissues of leaves and never bore into the internal tissues. Heavy infestation leads to defoliation and leaf blades appear whitish.

Controlling

Hand picking and light traps are useful to remove adults. For the caterpillars, crop sanitation, crop rotation and removal of weeds from the cultivation field is important. Land should be well fertilized and adequately irrigated. Many countries practise biological control measures to remove the pests. Caterpillars are highly susceptible for many strains of ''

Bacillus thuringiensis ''Bacillus thuringiensis'' (or Bt) is a gram-positive, soil-dwelling bacterium, the most commonly used biological pesticide worldwide. ''B. thuringiensis'' also occurs naturally in the gut of caterpillars of various types of moths and butterflie ...

''. Therefore, many countries plant rice varieties which are genetically engineered with Bt genes. Natural enemies like wasps and other parasitoids provide control against pupal and larval stages. Chemical sex attractants and pheromones are used in Japan, which provided good results. However, the best strategy to minimize the impact of green semiloopers is to ensure that the crop is well managed agronomically and monitored for the presence of pests on a weekly basis. This is known as

integrated pest management Integrated pest management (IPM), also known as integrated pest control (IPC) is a broad-based approach that integrates both chemical and non-chemical practices for economic control of pests. IPM aims to suppress pest populations below the econ ...

. Parasites such as '' Brachymeria lasus'', '' Charops bicolor'' and '' Charops brachypterum'' can be used to control larva and pupa. ''

Apanteles ''Apanteles'' is a very large genus of Braconidae, braconid wasps, containing more than 600 described species found worldwide. There are no native species in New Zealand, and none have been recorded in the high arctic. See also * List of Apantel ...

'' species can be used as parasites against larva. Predators such as '' Chlaenius bioculatus'' and '' Coccinella hieroglyphica'' also used in some countries. Eggs and larva can be eradicated by using '' Ophionea'' species. Many species of ''

Trichogramma ''Trichogramma'' is a genus of minute polyphagous wasps that are endoparasitoids of insect eggs. ''Trichogramma'' is one of around 80 genera from the family Trichogrammatidae, with over 200 species worldwide.Consoli FL, Parra JRP, Zucchi RA (2010 ...

'' are effective against the eggs.

References

External links

Studies on the biology of the rice green semilooper ''Naranga diffusa'' Walk.
Moths of Asia Moths described in 1865 Eustrotiinae {{Eustrotiinae-stub