Contents - LAC Biosafety

(Irianto et al., 1997). The bark-feeding caterpillars, Indarbela spp. often cause
moderate damage. Although a polyphagous minor pest of several tree species,
I. quadrinotata has been reported to build-up in damaging numbers in some
plantations of F. moluccana in Kerala, India (Mathew, 2002). Indarbela acutistriata
occurs in Java, Indonesia (Suharti et al., 2000). Among the stem borers, Xystrocera
festiva is a serious pest in Indonesia and Malaysia. A pest profile for this species is
given below. The closely related X. globosa is a minor pest which sometimes
occurs together with X. festiva in Indonesia. The scolytine twig borers (Table 10.9)
are more prevalent in unhealthy plantations; E. fornicatus, commonly known as
the shothole borer of tea, has been reported to cause mortality of apparently
unhealthy, two to three-year-old saplings, in small patches of plantations
(Mathew and Nair, 1985).
Pest profile
Xystrocera festiva Thomson (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)
10.8 Falcataria moluccana (Fabaceae: Faboideae) 239
Xystrocera festiva Thomson (Fig. 10.12a,b), commonly known as ‘albizzia
borer’, is a serious pest of F. moluccana. The beetle lays eggs on the bark of live
trees and the larvae bore into the stem, causing extensive damage, often leading
Fig. 10.12 Xystrocera festiva. (a) Adult (length 35 mm), (b) larva. After Abe (1983).