Aran Ngampongsai, Bruce Barrett, Surakrai Permkam, Niramon Suthapradit, and Ratchanee Nilla-or

pp. 1135 - 1145

Abstract

A preliminary study on some ecological aspects of fruit piercing moths (FPM) in Songkhla province
of southern Thailand was conducted from December 2003 to November 2004. The objectives of this study
were to determine species diversity, the seasonal abundance of the major moth species occurring in longkong
(Aglaia dookkoo Griff.), citrus (Citrus reticulata Blanco) and pomelo (C. maxima Merr.) as well as to assess
yield losses due to these insects in citrus cropping systems. Twenty-four species of FPM were collected from
these crops. The greatest species richness and relative abundance were observed in citrus, covering 23 species
from 452 individuals trapped. In pomelo, 20 different species were found among the 142 individuals trapped.
In the longkong system, there were 13 species found among the 100 individuals trapped. The three most
dominant species collected at the longkong site were Erebus ephesperis (Hübner), E. hieroglyphica (Drury)
and Ophiusa coronata (Fabricius). From the citrus site the most common species trapped were O. coronata (Fabricius), E. ephesperis (Hübner) and Othreis fullonia (Clerck). The most abundant species from the pomelo
site were Trigonodes hyppasia (Cramer), Mocis undata (Fabricius) and E. ephesperis (Hübner ). Simpson's
indices of diversity were 0.79, 0.89 and 0.88 in longkong, citrus and pomelo, respectively. Moth population
levels peaked in July and November in citrus, and in June in both longkong and pomelo. These peak occurrences were directly synchronized with the ripening stage of the fruit or at the harvest periods. Fruit losses
due to FPM in citrus were 24.8% and 22.7% in the 1^st harvest season (July-August 2004) and the 2^nd harvest
season (November-December 2004), respectively.