How to translate text using browser tools
18 October 2019 Description, Biology, and Impact of the Fruit-Feeding Moth, Mompha luteofascia sp. n. (Lepidoptera: Momphidae), on Miconia calvescens (Melastomataceae) in Costa Rica
Manuel Antonio Alfaro-Alpízar, Sjaak (J. C.) Koster, M. Tracy Johnson, Francisco Rubén Badenes-Pérez
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Fruits of Miconia calvescens DC. (Melastomataceae) were dissected to study insect frugivory in this plant in its native habitat in Costa Rica. Larvae of an unknown Mompha species (Lepidoptera: Momphidae), Anthonomus monostigma Champion (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), and unidentified Diptera and Hymenoptera were found in M. calvescens fruits. The Mompha species, described here as new as Mompha luteofascia Koster & Badenes-Pérez, was the most abundant insect frugivore in M. calvescens, infesting up to 38.1% of the fruits sampled. Feeding damage by M. luteofascia was positively correlated with fruit maturity, and resulted in significantly reduced numbers of seeds and rates of seed germination. Miconia calvescens fruits with medium damage (50–75% of the pulp missing) and high damage (75–100% of the pulp missing) had an average of 96 and 99 seeds, respectively, whereas undamaged fruits contained an average of 127 seeds per fruit. In fruits with medium and high fruit damage, only 1.9 and 0.1% of the seeds germinated, respectively, whereas 34.8% of the seeds germinated in undamaged fruits. Mompha luteofascia developed through three instars, as determined from measurement of head capsules. Larvae usually fed as one individual per each fruit attacked, exiting fruit to pupate in foliage or litter. Parasitism of M. luteofascia larvae was substantial, averaging 64 and 38% at the two study sites. Although host specificity of M. luteofascia has not been evaluated, the significant reductions in seed numbers and seed germination caused by its larvae indicate that this species deserves further assessment as a potential biological control agent of M. calvescens.

Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America 2019. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.
Manuel Antonio Alfaro-Alpízar, Sjaak (J. C.) Koster, M. Tracy Johnson, and Francisco Rubén Badenes-Pérez "Description, Biology, and Impact of the Fruit-Feeding Moth, Mompha luteofascia sp. n. (Lepidoptera: Momphidae), on Miconia calvescens (Melastomataceae) in Costa Rica," Annals of the Entomological Society of America 113(1), 30-39, (18 October 2019). https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/saz052
Received: 1 July 2019; Accepted: 5 September 2019; Published: 18 October 2019
JOURNAL ARTICLE
10 PAGES

This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
+ SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

KEYWORDS
biological control of weed
frugivory
seed germination
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top