Innovations in Dryland Agriculture

150

Common name

Scientific name

Order: Family

Host crop

Mode of damage

Sources

Weevils

Myllocerus discolor

B.

Coleoptera: Curculionidae

Peas, lentils, pearl millet, sunflower, sorghum, etc.

Feed on plants in the larval stage and as adults. Very destructive to crops. One of the most destructive weevils is the cotton boll weevil.

Butani (

1979

) and Hill

(^1987

)

Moths

Achaea janata

L.

Heliocheilus albipunctella

J.

Lepidoptera: Noctuidae

Castor, pearl millet, etc.

Most lepidopterans are moths. Very destructive to crops at larval stages.

Perry and Perry (

1989

)

Hessian fly

Mayetiola destructor

S.

Diptera: Cecidomyiidae

Wheat, barley, etc.

Maggots hatch from eggs, and crawl to the crown of seedlings (just above the roots) and feed on plant juices after injecting their unique saliva. Feeding by one larva can permanently stunt plant growth.

Anonymous (

1971

)

Shoot fly

Atherigona soccata

R.

Diptera: Muscidae

Sorghum, pearl millet, maize etc.

The larva (maggot) feed on the growing point of the shoot of the seedling and cause “dead heart”.

Perry and Perry (

1989

)

Wheat stem sawfly

Cephus cinctus

N.

Hymenoptera: Cephidae

Wheat, other cereals

The larvae begin feeding near the oviposition site, eventually feeding up and down the stem, chewing through nodes.

Morrill (

1995

)

Table 2

(continued)

A. Nawaz et al.