''Amata passalis'', the sandalwood defoliator, 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 ...

of the family Erebidae first described by

Johan Christian Fabricius Johan Christian Fabricius (7 January 1745 – 3 March 1808) was a Danish zoology, zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others. He was a student of Carl Linnaeus, an ...

in 1781. It is found in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and

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 ...

Biology

The average life cycle of the species in captivity is 62 days. After mating, the adult female lays about 305 eggs in a lifespan of 3.87 days. It is known to breed all year around and passes through 6-11 generations a year. There are eight larval instars. First and last instar larvae are about 1.97 mm and 29.29 mm in length, respectively. Adults usually emerge within 1 to 2 hours of sunrise. After a day, they are ready for mating. It is known mainly as a defoliator of sandalwood (''

Santalum album ''Santalum album'', or Indian sandalwood, is a small tropical tree, and the traditional source of sandalwood oil. It is native to southern India and Southeast Asia. It is considered sacred in some religions like Hinduism, and some cultures plac ...

'') in India. It is also recorded on various alternate food plants, mainly cowpeas, various other pulses, and ornamental plants. The larval stage of '' Apanteles nepitae'' can be used as a parasite to control the moth.

Host plants

* ''

Phaseolus vulgaris ''Phaseolus vulgaris'', the common bean, is a herbaceous annual plant grown worldwide for its edible dry seeds or green, unripe pods. Its leaf is also occasionally used as a vegetable and the straw as fodder. Its botanical classification, alo ...

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Trichosanthes anguina ''Trichosanthes cucumerina'' is a tropical or subtropical vine. Its variety ''T. cucumerina'' var. ''anguina'' raised for its strikingly long fruit. In Asia, it is eaten immature as a vegetable much like the summer squash and in Africa, the red ...

'' * ''

Vigna unguiculata The cowpea (''Vigna unguiculata'') is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus '' Vigna''. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few input ...

'' * ''

Capsicum annuum ''Capsicum annuum'' is a species of the plant genus '' Capsicum'' native to southern North America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. This species is the most common and extensively cultivated of the five domesticated capsicums. The sp ...

'' * ''

Brassica caulorapa ''Brassica oleracea'' is a plant species from family Brassicaceae that includes many common cultivars used as vegetables, such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, collard greens, Savoy cabbage, kohlrabi, and gai lan. Its ...

'' * ''

Gallery

வேலைக்காரி அந்துப்பூச்சியின் முட்டைகள் - Eggs of Sandalwood defoliator - Amata passalis.jpg, eggs முட்டையிடும் வேலைக்காரி அந்துப்பூச்சி - Sandalwood defoliator Egg laying - Amata passalis.jpg, female with eggs Mating moths (Amata passalis) spotted at Vizag.jpg, mating pair Amata sp. photographed from Bakamuna, Sri Lanka.jpg, adult in Sri Lanka Amata passalis-wasp moth.jpg, adult in India

References

Moths described in 1781 passalis Moths of Asia Moths of Sri Lanka {{amata-stub