Leaf-Footed plant bug - Leptoglossus zonatus
Pomegranate Fruit Borer - Virachola isocrates
|Minor problems are
leaf and fruit spot caused by Cercospora,
sp.; also foliar damage by whitefly, thrips, mealybugs and scale
insects; and defoliation by Euproctis
spp. and Archyophora
Termites may infest the trunk. In India, paper or plastic bags or other
covers may be put over the fruits to protect them from borers, birds,
bats and squirrels. 1
Root knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita, has been reported to be a serious pest.
Leaf-Footed Plant Bug
These pests can measure up to two inches long and can fly. This pest bores holes into the ripening pomegranate fruits. The fruits get brown spoiled spots on them and eventually fall to the ground in a pile of rotting fruit.
The adult western leaffooted bugs are 19–21 mm long, dark brown, with flattened leaf-like expansions on the hind tibia. The adult is distinguished from the other Leptoglossus spp. by having a whitish zigzag band across the corium and two pale yellow spots on the anterior pronotum.
Leptoglossus zonatus (Dallas) is widely known as the western leaffooted bug, but this is not an approved common name. Leptoglossus zonatus is a prevalent polyphagous minor pest of various field, vegetable and fruit crops in the Gulf Coast region of the United States. It has become a key pest in citrus, especially of satsuma mandarin (Citrus unshiu Mar.). It is also considered an important emerging pest on a wide range of crops including corn, cotton, eggplant, peach, pecan, pomegranate, tomato and watermelon in the United States (Xiao and Fadamiro 2011). 2
Leaf Borer Pest Alert from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry pdf
Pomegranate Pest - Fruit Borer from the University of California pdf
Western Leaffooted Bug Leptoglossus zonatus from the University of Florida pdf 4 pages
Pomegranate Fruit Borer
The pomegranate fruit borer or pomegranate butterfly are pests common in Asia, especially India and Sri Lanka. Adult males have glossy blue wings, females have brownish violet with an orange circular spot on the forewing.
PFB larvae bore into the pomegranate fruits soon after hatching from eggs laid on flowers or young fruit. Once inside the fruit, the flat larvae (approx 2cm length) feed on the flesh and seeds. Infested fruit will often have PFB feces near the bore holes of entry. The holes ultimately expose the rest of the fruit to disease, and typically rot off the tree. 2
Management in the San Joaquin Valley from the University of California pdf 11 pages
1 Morton, J. "Pomegranate." hort.purdue.edu. p. 352–355. In: Fruits of warm climates. 1987. Web. 613 June 2014.
2 Chi, Amelio A. and Mizell, III, Russell F. "Western Leaffooted Bug Leptoglossus zonatus (Dallas) (Insecta: Hemiptera: Coreidae)." edis.ifas.ufl.edu. This document is EENY-517, one of a series of the Entomology and Nematology Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Publication date June 2012. Reviewed Feb. 2016. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.
3 Zalom, Frank, Mark Bell, and Mark Henderson. "Pomegranate Fruit Borer." ipm-pest.ucdavis.edu. Statewide IPM Program, Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California. May 2009. Web. 21 June 2014.
Fig. 1 Wright, Natasha. Leaf-footed bug: Leptoglossus zonatus (Dallas, 1852). 2007. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. bugwood.org. Web. 20 June 2014.
Fig. 2 Rohitmg. Virachola isocrates Fabricius, 1793 – Common Guava Blue. 2014. indiabiodiversity.org. Web. 20 June 2014.
Published 21 June 2014 LR. Last update to 25 Apr. 2017 LR