Leaf eating caterpillars of secondary importance on oil palm, a potential risk in plantations.
1990
Sudharto P.S. | Sipayung A. | De Chenon R.D.
In oil palm plantations, apart from the main, very well known leaf eating caterpillar pests, many species of secondary importance are making sporadic outbreaks. Moreover, several have never even been reported on oil palm. An inventory of these species has been undertaken, their biology studied and their incidence as defoliators assessed. Among the Lymantriidae, Calliteara and some Dasychira species attack both young and old plantations. Different species of Euproctis are found in young plantations. Although they are generally of small size and their defoliation is not very important, they can be very numerous and their stinging effect makes it difficult to work in the fields when they are present. The genera of Limacodidae such as Birthamula, Cania, Narosa, Olona, Susica, Trichogyia and particular Darna like Darna bradleyi Holloway or Darna sordida Snellen are often in great numbers on young or sometimes also old plantations. When they are counted together with the other main pests they reach the critical level. The species belonging to the Amathusiidae : Amathusia, Noctuidae : Arasada, Notodontidae : Ambadra, Xylorictidae : Oditea, and Hesperiidae are very common but generally in very low populations. Other families never previously recorded on oil palm are frequent on the leaflets stuck together. All these species sometimes severely damage young and old palms or disturb the workers, becoming important when taken together with other pests, or only present in low populations, are generally high parasitized, predated and also affected by viral diseases. They are a major component in maintenance of natural enemies in the oil palm ecosystem. Furthermore when treated too much and not under the control of their natural enemies, they have the potential to become pests in oil palm plantations.
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