Maruca vitrata

Maruca vitrata is a pantropical insect pest of leguminous crops like pigeon pea, cowpea, mung bean and soybean. Its common names include the maruca pod borer, bean pod borer, soybean pod borer, mung moth, and the legume pod borer. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1787.

Bean pod borer
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Crambidae
Genus: Maruca
Species:
M. vitrata
Binomial name
Maruca vitrata
(Fabricius, 1787)
Synonyms
  • Botys bifenestralis Mabille, 1880
  • Crochiphora testulalis Geyer, 1832
  • Hydrocampe aquitilis Guérin-Méneville, [1832]
  • Maruca testulalis (Geyer, 1832)
  • Phalaena vitrata Fabricius, 1787

It can cause losses of 20–80% on the harvests of cowpeas.[1]

Its feeding sites on plants are flower buds, flowers and young pods. In some cases early instars feed on flower peduncles and young stems.

Methods for control

Biological

Some parasitoids have been shown to serve as a biological control for Maruca vitrata. Parasitoid wasps families include Braconidae and Ichneumonidae; some parasitoid flies in the Tachinidae are also natural enemies of the moth.[2] M. vitrata prefers to lay its eggs on the flowering bodies of the cowpea plant. Efforts have been made to deter M. vitrata from reproducing on the plant ranging from pesticides to a chemical specifically designed to sterilize the moth.[3]

References
  • Okeyo-Owuor, J.B., and Ochieng, R.S. 1981. "Studies on the legume bod borer, Maruca testulalis (Geyer)-1: Life cycle and behaviour". Insect Science and Its Application. 1: 263–268.
  • Sharma, H.C. 1998. "Bionomics, host plant resistance, and management of the legume pod borer, Maruca vitrata – a review". Crop Protection 17: 373–386.
  • Singh, S.R., and Jackai, L.E.N. 1985. "Insect pests of cowpea in Africa: their life cycle, economic importance and potential for control". In: Singh, S.R., and Rachie, K.O. Editors. 1985. Cowpea: Research, Production and Utilization. Wiley, New York. Pp. 217–232.
  • Singh, S.R., and Jackai, L.E.N. 1988. "Screening techniques for host plant resistance to cowpea insect pests". Tropical Grain Legume Bulletin. 35: 2–18.
  • OISAT
  • mbarnes
  • cabicompendium
  • Savela, Markku. "Maruca vitrata (Fabricius, 1787)". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  • Maruca in Australia
  • Network for Genetic Improvement of Cowpea for All (NGICA)

References
  1. "fao.org". Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  2. Parasitoids and other natural enemies of Maruca vitrata feeding on Sesbania cannabina in Taiwan
  3. Osei-Owusu, Jonathan (July 6, 2020). "Identification of Semiochemicals from Cowpea, Vigna unguiculata, for Low-input Management of the Legume Pod Borer, Maruca vitrata". Journal of Chemical Ecology (published March 2020). 46 (3): 288–298. doi:10.1007/s10886-020-01149-7. PMC 7142049. PMID 31953705. Retrieved July 6, 2020 – via Web of Science.


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