Diamondback moth

Diamondback moth may also refer to the New Zealand endemic moth Plutella antiphona or the ermine moth genus Scythropia.

Diamondback moth
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Plutellidae
Genus: Plutella
Species:
P. xylostella
Binomial name
Plutella xylostella
Synonyms
List
    • Phalaena xylostella Linnaeus, 1758
    • Phalaena tinea xylostella Linnaeus, 1758
    • Cerostoma xylostella (Linnaeus, 1777)
    • Cerostoma maculipennis Curtis, 1832
    • Plutella maculipennis
    • Plutella albovenosa (Walsingham, 1907)
    • Plutella karsholtella Baraniak, 2003
    • Plutella cruciferarum Zeller, 1843
    • Plutella brassicella Fitch, 1856
    • Plutella limbipennella Clemens, 1860
    • Plutella mollipedella Clemens, 1860
    • Gelechia cicerella Rondani, 1876
    • Tinea galeatella Mabille, 1888
    • Plutella dubiosella Beutenmüller, 1889
    • Plutella dudiosalla Moriuti, 1977

The diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella), sometimes called the cabbage moth, is a moth species of the family Plutellidae and genus Plutella. The small, grayish-brown moth sometimes has a cream-colored band that forms a diamond along its back.[1] The species may have originated in Europe, South Africa, or the Mediterranean region, but it has now spread worldwide.[2][3]

The moth has a short life cycle (14 days at 25 °C), is highly fecund, and is capable of migrating long distances.[4] Diamondback moths are considered pests as they feed on the leaves of cruciferous crops and plants that produce glucosinolates.[4] However, not all of these plants are equally useful as hosts to the moth. Because of this, studies have suggested using wintercress as a trap crop around agricultural fields because diamondback moths are highly attracted to that plant but their larvae fail to survive when eggs are laid on it.[5]

Originally, pesticides were used to kill the moths but diamondbacks have developed resistance to many of the common chemicals. For this reason, new biological and chemical controls, as well as different planting methods, are being pursued to reduce the destruction caused by the moths.[1][6]

  1. ^ a b Capinera, John L. "University of Florida".
  2. ^ AgroAtlas
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wei was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b N. S. Talekar; A. M. Shelton (1993). "Biology, ecology and management of the diamondback moth". Annual Review of Entomology. 38: 275–301. doi:10.1146/annurev.en.38.010193.001423.
  5. ^ F. R. Badenes-Perez; B. A. Nault; A.M. Shelton (2006). "Dynamics of diamondback moth oviposition in the presence of a highly preferred non-suitable host". Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata. 120 (1): 23–31. Bibcode:2006EEApp.120...23B. doi:10.1111/j.1570-7458.2006.00416.x. S2CID 5985701.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wee was invoked but never defined (see the help page).