Abstract
Jatropha curcas L., a biofuel tree, is attacked by several insect pests, including Pempelia spp. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). This insect pest feeds on the stem and the leaves of the plant and can inflict severe damage to the shrub. This is why we studied its biology. Pempelia spp. larvae were collected in J. curcas’ plantations in the Leo, Bieha, Silly and Niabouri communes in the Sissili province of Burkina Faso, West Africa and were bred inside transparent plastic boxes. Immerged adults were separated into boxes after pairing them and were bred until their death. The female deposits its eggs in batches on the apical parts of J. curcas. Newly laid eggs are white pale. The first instar larvae are tiny and white pale or yellow. The 2nd instar larvae have a light green coloration, with longitudinal stripes. The 3rd instar larvae are lightly green with dorsal longitudinal stripes. The 4th instar larvae have a black head and a grey body. The 5th instar larvae have a blackish brown head with a dark reddish or light reddish longitudinal body. The mean duration of an instar is 8 days. The pre-pupa stadium is a period during which the larvae surround themselves with a white web developed from their saliva secretion. The pupa lives within a dark red cocoon. Pempelia spp. adults are grey. Female adults have large abdomen whereas males show a cylindrical and slender abdomen. These findings are the first of their kind reported in Burkina Faso. They are discussed in this paper.
Highlights
In Burkina Faso, four species of physic nut are known: J. curcas L., J. gossypiifolia L., J. podagricas H. and J. integerima J. [1]
Pempelia spp.’s larvae were collected in the field and brought back to the laboratory and put into small plastic boxes of 50 × 40 cm
The coloration changes according to the evolution of age, because the caterpillars of the 2nd stage that were observed had a light green coloration with longitudinal stripes
Summary
In Burkina Faso, four species of physic nut are known: J. curcas L., J. gossypiifolia L., J. podagricas H. and J. integerima J. [1]. In Burkina Faso, four species of physic nut are known: J. curcas L., J. gossypiifolia L., J. podagricas H. and J. integerima J. Among these four species, J. curcas is the most popular and the most exploited one. Jatropha curcas is being promoted in several countries in the world for biofuels production and for increasing growers’ incomes, contributing to poverty alleviation in rural areas through the promotion of short chains of crude vegetal oil production [2]. Jatropha curcas contributes to soil fertility management through the control of wind and water erosion. J. curcas seed production is usually jeopardized by many insect pests. Several insects of the orders of Hemiptera, Coleoptera, Lepidopterous and Orthoptera are reported as insect pests of J. curcas in Nicaragua, in Brazil, in India, in Australia and in Africa [3]. According to the same authors, some of these insects feed on J. curcas’s flowers or its fruits and these result either in the abortion of flowers or the deformity of the fruits, while others eat the leaves of young plants and can bring about a poor development of these young plants
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