Sceliodes cordalis

Name

Sceliodes cordalis (Doubleday, 1843)

Common name: Poroporo fruit borer

Original combination: Margaritia cordalis Doubleday, 1843

Synonyms:

Daraba extensalis Walker, 1866
Eretria obsistalis Snellen, 1880
Sceliodes mucidalis Guenée, 1854

Alternative combinations: none.

Classification: Pyraloidea: Crambidae: Spilomelinae, Leucinodes group

Adult recognition

Forewing length: 13.5 - 15.0 mm, broad. The fronsFrons:
The front of the head, between the eyes.
is projected in a blunt cone. In the female, the apical segment of the palps is very long, nearly as long as the second segment; it is short in the male. The wings are white and orange-brown with broad white bands on the forewing costaCosta:
(1) The anterior margin of the wing. (2) In the male genitalia, the dorsal margin of the valva.
. The forewing posterior margin does not have an obvious orange triangle. The male genitalia have a large fibulaFibula:
Any projection on the face of the valva (not including the saccular process, if any).
with several long "teeth" from the broad base and a narrow process from the apex. The female genitalia have a pair of rough, rounded ostial scleritesOstial sclerites:
Sclerites associated with the ostium bursae.
set in the slightly thickened antrumAntrum:
Posterior section of the ductus bursae, posterior of the colliculum.
.

Immature stages

Larvae are pink and grow to 2.5 cm in length. The pinacula vary in degree of pigmentation, with those on the anterior segments and dorsal side generally more brown, and the other pinacula not colored. The prothoracic shieldProthoracic shield:
Also called the T1 shield. In the larva, the extensive sclerotized area of the dorsal half of the prothorax. It bears six setae on each side, and its color pattern is often diagnostic.
is not dark, but there are two pairs of distinct brown spots, one mid-laterally above the spiracles and the other on the middle posterior margin. The A8 SD1 setaSeta:
A larval hair (pl. setae).
is anterodorsal of the spiracleSpiracle:
Respiratory openings, mainly of interest for larval chaetotaxy. One pair on most segments.
.

Similar species

Sceliodes laisalis has a non-projecting fronsFrons:
The front of the head, between the eyes.
and a more visible orange triangle on the forewings. The male genitalia have an elongate saccusSaccus:
A ventral extension of the vinculum, between the valvae.
and fibulae without “teeth” (only one squat hook). Females have smooth, flat ostial scleritesOstial sclerites:
Sclerites associated with the ostium bursae.
and a thickened antrumAntrum:
Posterior section of the ductus bursae, posterior of the colliculum.
. Characters that consistently separate the larvae of the two species have not been worked out, although S. laisalis may have darker pinacula.

Behavior

One or two eggs are laid on green fruit, usually on or near the calyx, less often on leaves near the midrib. The larvae bore into fruit and consume the flesh and seeds. When they bore into the stem, they cause wilting of leaves. Larvae undergo 5 or 6 instars before emerging to pupate off the fruit. In New Zealand, they diapause as a prepupa, then pupate in the spring for 7 to 10 days. Two generations per year are reported in New Zealand, and there can be more in Australia.

Distribution

The species is distributed in Australia and New Zealand.

Hosts

Primary:

Solanum melongena L. (eggplant)
S. muricatum Aiton (pepino)
S. aviculare G. Forst. (poroporo)

Secondary:

Capsicum annuum L. (pepper)
Datura wrightii Regel (as D. metel L.) (thornapple)
D. stramonium L. (thornapple, jimsonweed)
Solanum lycopersicum L. (tomato)
S. esuriale Lindl. (quena)
S. americanum Mill. (as S. linnaeanum Hepper and P.-M. Jaeger) (black nightshade)
S. tuberosum L. (potato)

Literature

Clearwater et al. 1986Clearwater et al. 1986:
Clearwater JR, Galbreath RA, Benn MH, and Young H. 1986. Female-produced sexual pheromone of Sceliodes cordalis (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Journal of Chemical Ecology 12: 1943-1964.

Davis 1964Davis 1964:
Davis JJ. 1964. The egg fruit caterpillar. Queensland Agricultural Journal 90: 76-78.

Kay 2010Kay 2010:
Kay IR. 2010. Effect of constant temperature on the development of Sceliodes cordalis (Doubleday) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) on eggplant. Australian Journal of Entomology 49: 359-362.

Kay 2012Kay 2012:
Kay IR. 2012. Notes on the biology of Sceliodes cordalis (Doubleday) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae). Australian Entomologist 39: 89-95.

Martin 2010Martin 2010:
Martin NA. 2010. Poroporo fruit borer mdash; Sceliodes cordalis . New Zealand Arthropod Collection Factsheet Series, Landcare Research New Zealand Limited. http://nzacfactsheets.landcareresearch.co.nz/factsheet/OrganismProfile/Poroporo_fruit_borer_-_Sceliodes_cordalis.html