A Note on the Incidence of Potato Tuber Moth,

Abstract

An outbreak of larvae of a devastating moth was observed in an eggplant
(Solanum melongena L.) field at Elselate Scheme, Khartoum State, Sudan, during April
2007, with symptoms such as foliage-mining, leaf defoliation and fruit burrowing under
the calyx and through the fruit skin. The pest incidence was sufficient to cause
significant yield loss in most fields. Larvae of the pest were collected and reared in the
laboratory in Shambat Research Station. Adult moths of the order Lepidoptera emerged.
Specimens of the pest and photographs of the symptoms were sent to the Finnish
Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Finland, for identification. The pest
was identified as Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) which had
already been reported in Sudan as a pest on potato and tomato.