Morphological and Taxonomic Identification of Castor Capsule Borer (Conogethes punctiferalis)

The shoot and capsule borer, Conogethes punctiferalis Guenee (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is a serious pest of castor, commonly called as peach yellow moth and incurring huge yield losses. Hence, the present study was conducted on morphological studies (larvae, pupa and adult) of shoot and capsule borer under laboratory conditions. This study revealed that C. punctiferalis larvae were described based on the morphological characters and chaetotaxy of thoracic and abdominal segments and arrangement of crochets on the ventral prolegs. The measurements viz., total length and width of the larva, length and width of head capsule, length and width of thorax as well as abdomen, length and width of pupae, length of male and female moths, width of male and female moths with wings expanse were taken.