Symptoms of damage:

• Cause - defoliation

Identification of the pest:

Euproctis fraterna:

• Larva : Reddish brown hairy caterpillar, head red in colour surrounded by white hairs. Abdomen has tufts of hairs all over the body and a long pre anal tuft.
• Adult : yellow moth with pale transverse lines and black spots on the forewing

Porthesia scintillans:

• Larva: Larva has yellowish brown head with middle red and lateral yellowish stripes on the body. There are tufts of black hairs on the segments between the true legs and prolegs.
• Adult: Small, yellow moth with reddish tinge and two lighter lines and spots on the border.

Dasychira mendosa:

• Larva: Greyish brown with dark prothoracic and pre-anal tufts, Prolegs crimson coloured
• Adult: Bigger, yellowish brown moth with bulged abdomen.

Management :

• To control early stage larvae, spray neem seed kernel extract (NSKE) 5% or neem oil 5ml/ litre of water