Earias insulana

(Boisduval, 1833)

Arthropoda » Lepidoptera » Nolidae » Earias insulana

Common name (English)

Egyptian stemborer, Egyptian bollworm, Spiny bollworm, Cotton spotted bollworm

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Establishment status

Established

Establishment status detail

Alien:

Impacts

Negative

It is a serious pest of cotton. The larvae feed early in the season on the buds and leaves of the cotton plant but the most serious damage is caused later in the season when the maturing bolls are attacked. In addition to cotton this insect also attacks mpamia (Hibiscus esculentus) and it has been recorded elsewhere as attacking carob beans and maize, as we ll as other plants but it has not been recorded from these host plants in Cyprus (Morris 1937); reared from cotton bolls, okra, Cannabis sp. (Georghiou 1977); damage caused by larvae of Earias insulana is of great economic importance to growers of okra (Melifronides et al. 1978).

References

Bevan W (1919) Notes on agriculture in Cyprus and its products, 105 p.

Morris HM (1937) Injurious insects of Cyprus. Agricultural Department of Cyprus, Bulletin 4 (Ent. Ser. ) 21 pp.

Georghiou GP (1977) The insects and mites of Cyprus. With emphasis on species of economic importance to agriculture, forestry, man and domestic animals. Benaki Phytopathological Institute. Kiphissia, Athens Greece 347 pp.

Melifronides ID, Zyngas JP, Markoullis G (1978) Control of the Spiny Bollworm [Earias insulana [Boisd.]) in Cyprus. EPPO Bulletin 8 : 37–41. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2338.1978.tb02146.x