Lemon Butterfly

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What is lemon butterfly?

Papilio demoleus, commonly known as lemon butterfly or lime swallowtail, is a serious pest in citrus.

Susceptibility– All Citrus spp and other Rutaceae plant like bael (Aegle marmelos)

Egg– Female lays 100-150 eggs which are small, round and yellow in appearance laid on the top- most tender shoots of the plants in singly or in group. The eggs hatch in 6-8 days to form neonate.

Larvae– It has 5 larval instar and according to instar phases. Newly hatched caterpillars are less spiny, cylindrical and light brown or brownish black with a dirty white mark on the dorsal side of the abdomen and resembled bird droppings. Grown up larvae are yellowish green with horn structure on the dorsal side of last body segment. In summer larval period ranges from 8-16 days and 28-30 days during November to December.

Pupa– Full grown larva spins a girdle around its body and pupates on a twig. Pupa length measure from 30mm -32mm. The pupal period ranges from 8-11 days.

Adult– The adult emerged by dorsally splitting the pupal case. Adult with black head and thorax, creamy yellow coloration on the underside of the abdomen, wings dull black, ornamented with yellow markings and black clubbed antenna.

How does it damage the plant?

The larvae feed on the leaf lamina from the leaf margin to midrib. This leads to defoliation of entire plant in severe cases.

Symptoms –

• Caterpillar feeding habit is from edges to mid rib.
• Affects both young and old plants but infestation is more pronounced in young orchards.
• During major infestations, the entire plant may be defoliated.

Fig- Larvae feeding on leaves

Prevailing month-

These insects are more damaging in the months of March–May and again in August–October.

Management-

Source –