Abstract
We report field infestation under natural conditions by the cacao plum moth, Michaelophorus nubilus (Felder & Rogenhofer) on leaves of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.; Malvaceae) for the first time in Southern Chiapas, Mexico. The larvae of M. nubilus damages new “flushing” or light green leaves from buds, from either the main or lateral branches of cacao plants.
Highlights
The pantropical family Pterophoridae (Insecta: Lepidoptera) includes around 1,136 described species contained within five subfamilies: Agdistinae, Ochyroticinae, Deuterocopinae, Macropiratinae, and Pterophorinae
Toxoptera aurantii (Boy.) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), Xyleborus ferrugineus Fabricius, Xylosandrus morigerus Blandford, Hypothenemus birmanus Eichhoff, Corthylus minutissimus Schedl, Taurodermus sharpi Lenis, Hypothenemus interstitialis Hopkins (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), Selenothrips rubrocinctus Giard (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), Clastoptera laenata Fowler (Hemiptera: Clastopteridae) are among the phytophagous insects reported from Chiapas (Hernández-Gómez et al, 2015)
It is essential to identify and determine the damages caused in cocoa plantations, as well as the different life stages of any insect pest that will facilitate the development of integrated management strategies to reduce such pest populations
Summary
The pantropical family Pterophoridae (Insecta: Lepidoptera) includes around 1,136 described species contained within five subfamilies: Agdistinae, Ochyroticinae, Deuterocopinae, Macropiratinae, and Pterophorinae. In Mexico, cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.; Malvaceae) is cultivated in the states of Tabasco, Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Guerrero. Several other pests, many of them insects, affect the crops but had been poorly studied (López et al, 2003).
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