Cotton Semilooper

It is a sporadic pest and sometimes causes serious damage to the crop.

Appearance:

The adult is reddish brown with forewings traversed by two dark zig zag bands, while the hind wings are pale brown. The larva is semi-looper, 25-30 mm long, pale yellowish green with five white lines longitudinally on the dorsal surface and six pairs of black and yellow spots on the back.

                   Adult                                                                                  Larva

Life cycle:

Adult lays around 500 eggs. Eggs are laid singly on the upper surface of the leaf. Egg period is 3-4 days; larval duration is 15-20 days and pupal period 8 -10 days. Pupation takes place in plant debris or in the soil. The life cycle is completed within 28-42 days.

              Eggs                                                              Pupa

Nature of damage:

• The young larvae congregate in groups and move actively, feed on the leaf lamina making small punctures.
• The grown up larvae feed voraciously leaving only the midrib and veins.
• The caterpillars also feed on tender shoots, buds and bolls.

Damage symptoms:

• Membranous leaves
• Skeletonised leaves
• Defoliation
• Holes on bolls and twigs.

                     Damaged Plant