Documentation and taxonomic studies of Lepidopteran fruit borers infestingLitchi in Nagaland, India, with a new distributional record for the country

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24154/jhs.v20i2.3024

Keywords:

Damage symptoms, identification key, new record, roving survey, taxonomy

Abstract

An extensive roving survey was conducted across Nagaland to document the insect-infesting litchi fruits during 2021-2023. During the survey, a total of five identified species, namely Conogethes punctiferalis (Guenée,1854), Conopomorpha sinensis Bradley, 1986, Cryptophlebia ombrodelta (Lower, 1898), Deudorix epijarbus (Moore, 1857) and Thaumatotibia zophophanes (Turner, 1946) were recorded. Notably, the species T. zophophanes was a new record from India, while, C. ombrodelta and D. epijarbus were new distribution records from Nagaland state of India. Furthermore, all five species have been described with quality images. In addition, damage symptoms of each species, along with larvae, have been given. The article provides fundamental information that would enable quick identification and formulating species-specific pest management strategies.

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Author Biographies

  • L Imtinaro, Nagaland University

    Department  of Entomology, Nagaland University

  • J S Choudhary, ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region

    ICAR-Research Complex for Eastern Region, Ranchi-834010, Jharkhand, India

  • M Chandan Suravi, Nagaland University

    Department of Horticulture Nagaland 

  • D Hijam Shila, Nagaland University

    Department of Entomology Nagaland University

  • N Pankaj, Nagaland University

    Department of Entomology Nagaland University

  • B Susanta, Nagaland University

    Department of Plant Pathology Nagaland University

  • M Shankara Murthy, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore

    University of Agricultural Sciences Bengaluru

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Published

31-12-2025

Data Availability Statement

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Section

Research Papers

How to Cite

MAHESWARA REDDY, P., Imtinaro, L., Choudhary, J. S., Chandan Suravi, M., Hijam Shila, D., Pankaj, N., Susanta, B., & Shankara Murthy, M. (2025). Documentation and taxonomic studies of Lepidopteran fruit borers infestingLitchi in Nagaland, India, with a new distributional record for the country. Journal of Horticultural Sciences, 20(2). https://doi.org/10.24154/jhs.v20i2.3024

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