Pacific Pests and Pathogens Pacific Pests & Pathogens - Full Size Fact Sheets

Ramie moth (358) Print Fact Sheet

Common Name

Ramie moth, banana moth (name given in this fact sheet). The name 'ramie' is a common name for the main host, Boehmeria nivea.

Scientific Name

Arcte coerula; previously, Cocytodes coerulea. It is a moth of the Noctuidae.

Distribution

Restricted. Asia, Oceania. It recorded from Australia (Queensland and Norfolk Island), Fiji, and Papua New Guinea.

Hosts

Boehmeria species, e.g., Bohmeria nivea (ramie), Boehmeria nipononivea (Japanese false nettle), Boehmeria australis (nettle tree), and others in the nettle family (Urticaceae), Cypholophus, Debregeasia, Girardinia, and Pipturus). Ramie is also called China grass or white ramie in China.

Ramie is an important natural fibrecrop (used to make cloth, ropes, and high-quality clothes), grown in China, India, Southeast Asia and Pacific rim countries. However, it is also rich in protein, and the shoots and leaves can be used as fodder for cattle and geese. In Fiji, it has been recorded on bunches of over-ripe bananas.

Symptoms & Life Cycle

The caterpillars or larvae do the damage by defoliating plants. Early stages feed together making holes in the leaves (Photos 1&2), later ones strip the leaves leaving only the major veins (Photo 3).

Eggs are laid on the underside of Boehmeria leaves. The mature larvae are yellow with a wide black band along each side containing a row of red spots, and narrow black lines across the back (Photos 4&5). The head and legs are black. Sparse, stiff long white hairs cover the body. When threatened, the larvae swing the front part of the body from side to side. The caterpillars darken with age, and grow up to 10 cms.

The adult moth has dark brown forewings with black and silvery markings, and light brown patches at the tips (Photo 6). The hindwings are brown with wide blue spots or lines (Photo 7). The adult moths are attracted to ripe fruit of plantains (Photo 8).

Impact

In China, the ramie moth is said to be a destructive pest, causing severe destruction.

Detection & Inspection

Look for large vibrant yellow and black larvae perforating leaves of Boerhmeria when young and stripping all but the main veins when old. Look for dark moths with brown tips to the forewings, and distinctive blue patterns on the hindwings.

Management

There is very little to report on the management of this pest, except for the use of pesticides. No natural enemies have been reported. The cultural control recommendations are those that are standard for moth larvae.

CULTURAL CONTROL

Before planting:

During growth:

After harvest:

CHEMICAL CONTROL


AUTHOR Grahame Jackson & Mani Mua
Information Coffs Harbour Butterfly House. (http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/calp/coerula.html); and (Photos ???) from Liangbin  Zeng, et al. (2016) Transcriptome analysis of ramie (Boehmeria nivea L. Gaud.) in response to ramie moth (Cocytodes coerulea Guenée) infestation. BioMed Research International. Article ID 3702789 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/3702789). Photo 1 Masaki Ikeda, Japan. (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arcte_coerula_larva_08Oct16.jpg). Photo 2 Patrick Randall, Ramie moth, Arcte coerulea (Guenee, 1952), Norwood, MA. (https://www.flickr.com/photos/animaliaproject/6512086055). Photo 4 Alexey Yakovlev, Moscow, Russia. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcte_coerula#/media/File:Arcte_coerula_(Erebidae-_Catocalinae)_(4199144357).jpg). Photo 5 CSIRO/BIO Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics. http://v3.boldsystems.org/index.php/Taxbrowser_Taxonpage?taxid=308358).

Produced with support from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research under project HORT/2016/185: Responding to emerging pest and disease threats to horticulture in the Pacific islands, implemented by the University of Queensland and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.



This fact sheet is a part of the app Pacific Pests and Pathogens

The mobile application is available from the Google Play Store and Apple iTunes.


Pacific Pests and Pathogens Android Edition      Pacific Pests and Pathogens iOS Edition

www.pestnet.org            Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research