General Information

Scientific name:Homona coffearia
Lepidoptera: Tortricidae
Synonyms: Coffee tortrix, tea flushworm, tea tortricid

Distribution

Asia, Australia

Hosts

Tea and coffee are the preferred hosts but also will feed on citrus, cocoa, cowpea, groundnut, mango, soybean, tobacco, some tropical fruits and the shade trees of tea and coffee

Damage

The larvae feed on leaves especially those found at the growing parts of the plants. They web two or more leaves together or roll and fasten the sides of a single leaf with silken threads, which serve as their feeding sites. They feed from the inside wherein fragments of chewed leaves and excreta (waste matters) are very visible where the feeding occurs. During their entire larval stage, they prepare several feeding sites, one of which is where they pupate.

Description

The eggs are flat and are laid in clusters on the upper surface of the leaves. Each egg cluster is composed of about 150 eggs. They hatch in about 1-1œ weeks.

The larva is green in color with shiny-black head and can grow up to 2.5 cm long. The larval development lasts for about 3-6 weeks.

The pupa is greenish that eventually turns brownish as it matures. It is found on the rolled or webbed leaves. Pupal stage lasts for about 7-10 days.

The adult female is pale-brown while the male is gray and smaller. Both are bell-shaped when at rest, though more prominent on the females.