HABITAT DESCRIPTION, HOST PREFERENCE AND REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOR OF TUSSOCK MOTH, ORGYIA DUBIA TAUSCH. (LEPIDOPTERA: LYMANTRIIDAE), AT THE EGYPTIAN NORTHWESTERN COAST

Imam, Ahmed; Mansour, Amany

doi:10.21608/ejdr.2019.17361.1052

HABITAT DESCRIPTION, HOST PREFERENCE AND REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOR OF TUSSOCK MOTH, ORGYIA DUBIA TAUSCH. (LEPIDOPTERA: LYMANTRIIDAE), AT THE EGYPTIAN NORTHWESTERN COAST

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Ahmed Imam ¹
Amany Mansour ²

¹ Department of Plant Protection, Desert Research Center, Cairo, Egypt

² Department of Plant Protection (Entomology), Desert Research Center, Egypt

10.21608/ejdr.2019.17361.1052

Abstract

Tussock moth, Orgyia dubia Tausch. (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), is a rarely encountered species in the Northwestern coast of Egypt. The disturbance of its natural habitat due to different anthropogenic activities may negatively affect its population and consequently its role in the environment. So, the current study targeted different characteristics of this species to clarify certain points that could participate in the conservation of its population under the wild life and also to prevent its outbreak on the cultivated hosts. In the wild,O. dubia larvae were recorded eating Horsetail knotweed; Polygonume equisetiforme Sibth. and Sm. and Mediterranean saltbush; Atriplex halimus L. in the valleys extending along the coast. The larvae were mainly found during winter seasons. These plant hosts grew in the shallow saline soils along the plain zones of valley’s upstream and along the basement portion of its terraces. The larva was also detected feeding on some cultivated plants (Old man saltbush; A. nummulariaL and quinoa; Chenopodium quinoa Willd.). Laboratory test revealed that O. dubia larvae were more likely to attack A.nummularia than C. quinoa. The larvae exhibited high abundance on its cultivated hosts during winter seasons. Observations of laboratory-reared O. dubia revealed its unique reproductive behavior among the rest of lepidopteran families.

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