Bio‐ecology of false codling moth, Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) within citrus orchards in Kenya and Tanzania

Abstract

Abstract False codling moth, Thaumatotibia leucotreta is among the key constraints of the agricultural industry. Little is known about the population dynamics and genetic diversity of this pest in East Africa. The spatial–temporal population dynamics and genetic diversity of false codling moth were evaluated in citrus orchards in Kenya and Tanzania between May 2017 and August 2018 covering two fruiting seasons. The diversity of false codling moth sampled in these orchards and from solanaceous hosts, as well as from specimens received from Uganda, Sudan, and South Africa were assayed using the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene. A similar spatial–temporal pattern of false codling moth was found in both Kenya and Tanzania, with the most male moths in August 2017 and 2018. In Tanzania, the number of male moths caught at high and mid altitudes did not differ but were significantly higher than those caught at low altitude. A relatively low false codling moth genetic diversity was recorded at the sites where sampling was done in the respective countries as well as between specimens sampled from different host plants. The low false codling moth genetic diversity determined in this trial can be exploited in the management of the pest in the studied countries.