© Benaki Phytopathological Institute
Bioecology of
Nephopterygia austeritella
on
Prosopis farcta
79
2007). Among the insects associated with
P
.
farcta
, the seed beetle
Caryedon angeri
Se-
menov (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is re-
ported as the most harmful agent attack-
ing the reproductive organs of
P
.
farcta
in
the Middle East (Johnson, 1983; Sertkaya
et al.
, 2005).
Caryedon angeri
usually infests
Acacia
spp. and
P
.
farcta
, but there are con-
cerns about its tendency to attack non-tar-
get species, such as groundnut (
Arachis hy-
pogaea
L. (Fabaceae) (Bagheri-Zenous, 1992;
Anton and Delobel, 2004). It is argued that
C
.
angeri
is not a good candidate for the bi-
ological control of the weed (Sertkaya
et al.,
2005). Parasitoid braconid wasps attacking
lepidopteran species of the families Lycae-
nidae, Geometridae and Gelechiidae that
feed on
P
.
farcta
were recorded by Halper-
in (1986).
Recent observations on
P
.
farcta
shrubs
in southern Iran revealed that the pyralid
moth
Nephopterygia austeritella
Amsel (Lep-
idoptera: Pyralidae, Phycitinae) can feed on
the pods of
P
.
farcta
(Alipanah
et al.,
2012).
Nephopterygia austeritella
has been record-
ed from Sudan (Amsel, 1965) to the Canary
Islands (Spain), Egypt (Asselbergs, 2009) and
Iran (Alipanah
et al.,
2012). This work was in-
tended to study the bioecology of
N
.
auster-
itella
under natural conditions in central Iran
and its negative impact on the reproductive
organs of
P
.
farcta
.
Materials and methods
Infestation by the herbivore
The infestation of
P
.
farcta
by
N
.
auster-
itella
was studied in an abandoned orchard
of approximately 10 hectares in Yazd Coun-
ty (31°89´ N, 54°36´ E, 1230 m a.s.l.), Yazd
province, Iran. A map showing the study site
is illustrated in Figure 1. Sampling was per-
formed according to the
P
.
farcta
phenolo-
gy, from May (early spring coinciding with
leaf formation) to November (late autumn
during leaf fall) at 10-15 day intervals, dur-
ing 2008 and 2009. A random sample of 100
pods was made from branches of
P
.
farcta
.
The sampled pods were then transferred to
the laboratory where they were dissected
with a sharp knife. The number of infested
pods, larvae and externally parasitized lar-
vae (as in Figure 2B-F) were recorded. The
phenology of the host plant was recorded
in each sampling date.
Infestation pattern
Infestation pattern of pods of
P
.
farc-
ta
by
N
.
austeritella
was examined in a sam-
ple taken on 27 June 2009 from Yazd County
area coinciding with the late emergence of
adults (Figure 3). Fifty stems of
P
.
farcta
(one
stem in each bush) were randomly select-
ed and all pods (114), the number of infest-
ed pods and larva(e) within each pod (Figure
2B-C) were recorded. Infestation pattern of
pods was calculated based on single or mul-
tiple larvae in each pod.
Description of larval instars
Larval instars were documented by de-
termining the distance between the exter-
nal extreme of the ocelli as the breadth of
the head capsule of the larvae (Freitas, 1993).
The body length of the larvae was measured
from the anterior edge of the anteclypeus to
the posterior edge of the anal plate. These
data were used for determining the larval
instars of
N
.
austeritella
using Dyar’s rule. All
measurements were made using a calibrat-
ed ocular micrometer of an Olympus stere-
omicroscope on 5-10 larvae collected from
the study area of Yazd County in each sam-
pling date. The larvae are described here
for the first time. The fifth larval instar was
described and illustrated in detail to dis-
tinguish it from other species of the family
Pyralidae. Their mouthparts were dissect-
ed following the methods of Godfrey (1972),
and the setal nomenclature follows that of
Hasenfuss and Kristensen (2003).
Impact of N. austeritella on pods of P.
farcta
Natural impact of
N
.
austeritella
on
P
.
farcta
pods was evaluated in March 2008
and 2009 (late winter) coinciding with the
end of annual growing period of the plant at
three areas in central Iran: Abarkouh coun-
