First report of Streblote solitaria (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae) damage on Avicennia marina trees in southern mangroves of Iran

Abstract

Nowadays, Streblote spp. is one of the destructive polyphagous pest in central and southern parts of Iran. During forest monitoring (2017–2018), the larvae of a lepidopteran species were observed to damage a large number of grey mangrove trees (Avicennia marina) located in Khamir port (Hormozgan province, Iran). So following intensive feeding of larvae on different portions of the canopy, severe dieback was observed on the trees in the study area. The objective of this research was first report of pest causing damage on A. marina trees in southern mangroves of Iran. To identify the pest, larvae and pupae were collected and transferred to the laboratory. The following characteristic observation were taken, (i) morphological characteristics and (ii) DNA barcoding. Regarding the results, the larvae and mature moth were identified as Streblote solitaria (Lepidoptera, Lasiocampidae) on the basis of morphological characteristics, and identification through DNA barcoding. The sequence was deposited in NCBI GenBank under accession number MH414968.1. This is the first report of the presence of S. solitaria in this forest in southern Iran and subsequent mangrove damage. More researches and proper management in this area is recommended to efficient control of this pest and inhibiting the disaster in this valuable mangrove forests.