''Epiricania melanoleuca'' is a

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

in the family

Epipyropidae The Epipyropidae comprise a small family (biology), 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 Planthopper, fulgoroid planth ...

. It was described by

Thomas Bainbrigge Fletcher Thomas Bainbrigge Fletcher (25 March 1878 – 30 April 1950) was an English entomologist. Although an amateur lepidopterist who worked in the Royal Navy, he became an expert on "microlepidoptera" and was appointed as the second Imperial Entomol ...

in 1939. It is found in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, 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, whether pest animals such as insects and mites, weeds, or pathogens affecting animals or plants by using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or ot ...

against this pest.

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, which occurs between each moult (''ecdysis'') until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to ...

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 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 stout, jointed, fib ...

-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, similar to the blood in invertebrates, that circulates in the inside of the arthropod's body, remaining in direct contact with the animal's tissues. It is composed of a fluid plasma in which hemolymph c ...

. 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 (), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is a state located in Eastern India. It is the eighth-largest state by area, and the eleventh-largest by population, with over 41 million inhabitants. The state also has the thir ...

, 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