Prays citri ( Millière, 1873 )

Prays citri ( Millière, 1873) View in CoL ( Figs 1 View Figure 1 , 2 View Figure 2 )

Material examined. 6 ♀ / ♂, Iran, Mazandaran province, Sari, Esfandan village ( Mr. Akbarzadeh greenhouse), lemon greenhouse, 36º44'3.4"N, 53º07'4.6"E, - 17 m a.s.1., 25-IV-2024, leg.: Fardin Shahbaznejad. GoogleMaps 5 ♀ / ♂, Iran, Mazandaran province, Sari, Zaghmarz ( Mr. Abdollahi greenhouse), lemon greenhouse, 36º47'44.9"N, 53º17'35.6"E, - 18 m a.s.1., 25-IV-2024, leg.: Fardin Shahbaznejad. GoogleMaps 7 specimen, Iran, Mazandaran province, Sari, Chubāgh village ( Mr. Shaeri and Larimi greenhouse), lemon greenhouse, 36º45'21"N, 52º58'27"E, - 23 m a.s.1., 27-IV-2024, leg.: Masoumeh Shayanmehr. GoogleMaps

Morphology. The adults (male/female) with long and filiform antennae. Wingspan 12–14 mm. Head, thorax, and forewings greyish-brown, forewings narrow and pointed, spotted with dark, hind wings brownish with narrow, pointed with long fringes ( Fig. 1A–D View Figure 1 ). The larvae vary from light grey or greenish to brown. Fully grown larvae 4.2–5.5 mm long and semi-transparent ( Fig. 1E–F View Figure 1 ). The pupa is initially light green but soon turns chocolate brown ( Fig. 1G View Figure 1 ).

Damage and symptoms. Citrus flower moth larvae are particularly destructive to blossoms and young fruit which occur in spring and mid-summer. The damage occurs when the larvae feed on the flower parts or web them together. The larvae penetrate the buds and feed on them. As a result, damaged flower buds and flowers quickly wilt and are shed ( Fig. 2A–C View Figure 2 ). The penetration of the fruit by the newly hatched larva is usually very superficial and often results in gumming of the fruit. Initially, the penetration marks ( Fig. 2C View Figure 2 ) are relatively small, but as the fruit matures, they develop into brown necrotic scars, which can lead to the fruit being downgraded. Pupation occurs among damaged flowers or leaves.

Distribution in Iran. The occurrence of this species has very recently been reported from one of the studied locations (Chubagh village) in the citrus-growing regions of the north, but there is no available information on its presence in other citrus-producing provinces. This pest likely entered from Iran's neighbouring country, Turkey, along with infected saplings of lime trees.

General distribution. The pest, citrus flower moth has been widespread throughout the world, especially in the Mediterranean regions ( Fig. 3 View Figure 3 ).