Neurozerra conferta Walker, 1856

Neurozerra conferta Walker View in CoL ( Cossidae )

Based on the external morphological characters of the adults ( Figs. 4a, b View Figure 4 ) from this study and compared with those previously given by Yakovlev (2011), the pest infesting C. fistula trees in Vietnam was confirmed as Neurozerra conferta Walker, 1856 ( Lepidoptera : Cossidae ). The characteristic features of this pest, based on morphological examination of 16 specimens, are as follows:

Adults are whitish, head and thorax covered with dark grey hairs; thorax with six black dots. Abdomen has three rows of black dots. Forewing consists of sparsely grey lines and streaks on the light areas; hindwing white with black spots. Males have forewing lengths of 30.5–40.5 mm, body size is 22.3–24.8 mm long, 4.0– 4.5 mm wide. Male antennae setaceous, light brown in basal part, filiform, brown at the top ( Fig. 4b View Figure 4 ). Females have forewing length of 36.5–68.1 mm, body size 28.6–31.2 mm long, 4.5–7.1 mm wide. Female antennae filiform, brown ( Fig. 4a View Figure 4 ).

Eggs creamy white or light yellow, cylindrical, 1.6–1.7 mm long, 0.6–0.7 mm wide.

Larvae reddish brown, cylindrical. Last instar body 25.3–31.2 mm long, 5.1–5.9 mm wide, segments have brown dots along the sides of the body; head dark brown ( Fig. 4d View Figure 4 ).

Pupae light brown, 25.5–40.5 mm long, 5.0– 8.1 mm wide ( Fig. 4e View Figure 4 ), male pupae smaller than female pupae.

Damage symptoms: N. conferta was associated with tree damage and branch breakage. Infested C. fistula trees have circular holes with a diameter of 0.63–0.91 cm in the boles or branches, located 20– 300 cm above ground. There is much frass around the base of the damaged trees. Frass is discrete, semi-circular and dark yellow or brown ( Fig. 4c View Figure 4 ). The tunnels go straight into the boles or branches and then vertically up the centre of the stem or branch. The tunnels are circular, 0.65–0.85 cm in diameter, 15.5– 33.5 cm long. Severely damaged trees can have 8– 10 larvae in the bole and branches, and branches can break in the wind. This pest was recorded in Son La province.

Discussion

This is the first record of Eurema hecabe and Neurozerra conferta damaging C. fistula trees; and is the first record of Copamyntis alectryonura and Cryptophlebia ombrodelta damaging C. fistula trees in Vietnam. Copamyntis alectryonura (with synonym Copamyntis obliquifasciella and sometimes spelled as “alectroneura”) has been recorded in China, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan ( Beccaloni et al. 2005; Mathew 2006; Shivakumara et al. 2023). It has been reported as a pest on C. fistula trees in India ( Shivakumara et al. 2023).

The common grass yellow, Eurema hecabe is distributed from the Oriental tropics through subtropical to temperate zones ( Kato 2000). It has been widely recorded in Asia, Africa, and Australia ( Lee et al. 2023), India ( Ramana et al. 2003), Japan ( Kato 2000), and Vietnam ( Tuyen 2012). It has previously been recorded as a serious pest of Cassia siamea trees ( Tuyen 2012), C. tora trees ( Ramana et al. 2003) and Acacia stenophylla seedlings in India ( Khan and Sahito 2012). The damage symptoms of these pests in India were very similar to those recorded in the present study.

Cryptophlebia ombrodelta View in CoL is found in Hawaii ( Jones 1995), Australia ( Waite 1986), China ( Zhao et al. 2013), India ( Patel et al. 2023), and Vietnam ( Brown et al. 2019). It causes serious damage in macadamia and litchi trees in Asia and Australia, and on imported trees in the US ( Sinclair 1975; Waite 1986; Jones 1995; Gupta et al. 2017; Brown et al. 2019). This species is seen as a pest on a wide range of host plants such as Acacia spp. , Adenanthera pavonia , Aegle marmelos View in CoL , Bauhinia spp. , Cassia spp. , Cocoloba uvifera , Erythrophleum fordii View in CoL , Filicium decipiens View in CoL , Parkinsonia aculeata View in CoL , Nephelium litchi View in CoL , Sesbania spp. , Phaseolus lunatus View in CoL , Pithecellobium dulce View in CoL , Poinciana pulcherrima View in CoL , Prosopis juliflora View in CoL , Senna occidentalis View in CoL , and Tamarindus indica View in CoL ( Zhao et al. 2013; Gupta et al. 2017; Nguyen et al. 2023; Patel et al. 2023). This pest has been recorded on C. fistula View in CoL in India ( Patel et al. 2023), but its damage on host trees remains unknown. In this study, the species was identified as a fruit borer on C. fistula View in CoL that is present in very high densities. Besides providing seeds, C. fistula View in CoL fruits are rarely used for other purposes in Vietnam. This damage is less serious, but C. fistula View in CoL is an intermediate host and will be a source of pest spread to other host plants. In addition, C. ombrodelta View in CoL has been identified as a economically significant and common shoot borer on E. fordii View in CoL trees ( Nguyen et al. 2023). The management of this pest has faced numerous challenges in planted forests lately, likely due to its propagation from C. fistula View in CoL , as it hides in various host trees.

Neurozerra conferta View in CoL is distributed in Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam ( Arora 1971; Baksha and Islam 1999; Yakovlev 2011). The broad range of host plants include the families Avicenniaceae , Bombacaceae , Erythroxylaceae View in CoL , Lecythidaceae View in CoL , Lythraceae View in CoL , Myrsinaceae , Myrtaceae, Rhizophoracaea View in CoL , Rubiaceae View in CoL , Sterculiaceae , Zingiberaceae View in CoL ( Toxopeus 1948; Baksha and Islam 1999; Robinson et al. 2001). This is an economically significant polyphagous stem borer ( Syazwan et al. 2019; Chi et al. 2022b; Rishi et al. 2022) that often bores broad tunnels resulting in windthrow ( Chi et al. 2022b) and causes serious damage on Aquilaria spp. , Gyrinops spp. in Malaysia ( Syazwan et al. 2019), A. malaccensis View in CoL in India ( Rishi et al. 2022), and Melaleuca spp. in Vietnam ( Chi et al. 2022b). In this study, damage caused by this stem borer was associated with some broken branches. This pest is a particular concern for Aquilaria View in CoL plantation owners ( Syazwan et al. 2019; Rishi et al. 2022). Furthermore, records of new host plants have shown its potential danger for C. fistula View in CoL trees in Vietnam.

Many studies have shown that substances extracted from C. fistula View in CoL have the ability to inhibit or kill pests ( Chauhan et al. 2011; Raman Ibrahim et al. 2021). For example, ethanol extracts of C. fistula View in CoL had high toxicity to larval Spodoptera litura ( Chauhan et al. 2011) View in CoL . Leaf extract can also work against mosquitoes ( Govindarajan et al. 2008) and solvent residues against Callosobruchus maculatus ( Raja et al. 2000) . Seed of the trees contain a trypsin inhibitor, which was recorded as an antibiosis agent for Helicoverpa armigera ( Pandey et al. 2016) View in CoL . However, as evidenced by the present study, this plant is still damaged by some pests. Insect pests that can withstand host plant toxins are often highly resistant to pesticides and are very difficult to control ( Alyokhin and Chen 2017).

The sginficant economic damage to forest trees has been recorded in Vietnam for a range of pests such as Euwallacea spp. on Acacia plantations ( Hung et al. 2022), Zeuzera multistrigata on Eucalyptus and Glyptostrobus pensilis plantations ( Chi et al. 2022a; Thanh et al. 2024), Orientozeuzera rhabdota on Manglietia conifera and Michelia mediocris ( Chi et al. 2023) , and Endoclita spp. on Eucalyptus hybrid ( Buchsbaum et al. 2022; Pham et al. 2024). In addition, serious damage from some pests and diseases has also been recorded on urban trees in Vietnam such as Achaea serva on Pouteria obovata ( Hinh et al. 2024) , Kamalia priapus on Homalium ceylanicum ( Danh et al. 2024) , and Ceratocystis fimbriata on Cinnamomum cassia , E. fordii , Khaya senegalensis , and Senna siamea ( Thu et al. 2024) .

However, studies on the control of the two borer pests, C. ombrodelta and N. conferta , and leaf-feeder ( E. hecabe and Ceracris kiangsu ) have been carried out with positive results when using some biological agents ( Tuyen 2012; Griffin 2021; Chi et al. 2022b; Chi et al. 2025), which will be important data for pest management on C. fistula trees. The damage by the four insects with high intensity is detrimental to environmental and economic functions. Further research needs to focus on monitoring activities and selecting effective management techniques for these pests in Vietnam.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the local governments for their support in collecting samples in Dak Lak, Hanoi, Son La and Yen Bai provinces. We would like to thank Dr. John Heppner for his confirmation of the pests and English language editing .

Conflict of interest On behalf of the authors, there are no conflicts of interest.

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