Species Diversity and Abundance of Fruit-piercing Moths (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Infesting Somkaew (<I>Citrus nobilis</I>) in Bang Sakae Subdistrict, Bang Khonthi District, Samut Songkhram Province, Central Thailand
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Abstract
Somkaew (Citrus nobilis) is an important economic plant in Bang Khonthi district, Samut Songkhram province, the largest somkaew producing area in Thailand. However, the infestation of fruit-piercing moths (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), key pest of citrus, causes significant damage to the quality and quantity of oranges. There is still very little information of fruit-piercing moths on somkaew. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the species diversity and abundance of fruit-piercing moths in the somkaew orchard at Bang Sakae subdistrict, Bang Khonthi district, Samut Songkhram province, central Thailand. It was studied from October 2019 - March 2020 and April - May 2021. The specimens were collected using moth traps baited with pineapple. Six moth species were discovered including Artena dotata, Eudocima phalonia, E. salaminia, Ophiusa coronata, O. tirhaca and Thyas honesta. In October 2019, the highest number of 17 moths were trapped with the diversity and evenness indexes at 1.42 and 0.28, respectively. The highest total number of 19 trapped species belonged to O. coronata moths with abundance index at 75%.
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