Isotenes miserana

Isotenes miserana (Walker, 1863)
(one synonym: Teras absumptana Walker, 1866)
Orange Fruit Borer
TORTRICINAE , TORTRICIDAE

Don Herbison-Evans ( donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
&
Stella Crossley

(updated 2 September 2008)

This caterpillar is a pest attacking flowers and fruit of a wide variety of agricultural plants and fruit trees, including:

Orange ( Citrus sinensis, RUTACEAE ),

Avocado ( Persea americana, LAURACEAE ),

Mulberry ( Morus species, MORACEAE ),

Macadamia ( Macadamia integrifolia, PROTEACEAE ),

Lychee ( Litchi chinensis, SAPINDACEAE ), and

Cultivated Grapes ( Vitis vinifera, VITACEAE ).

The caterpillar is buff coloured with brown spots, a dark brown head, and has a stiff white hair projecting each side from each segment.

The caterpillar pupates in a cocoon protected by leaves joined around it.

The adult moths are varied in colour and pattern, being brown or grey, often with diagonal indistinct speckled darker stripes across each forewing. The moths have a wingspan of about 2 cms.

(Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

The eggs are laid in a mass protected by a fence of scales deposited around them by the female moth.

The species has been found in

Northern Territory,

Queensland,

New South Wales, and

Victoria.

It is hoped to avoid it migrating into New Zealand.

The pest is controlled by the use of:

insecticide spraying with endosulfan or carbaryl.