The pest turned out to be an Asian moth
A new species of a very voracious pest butterfly eating hibiscus plantings in the Sochi area was discovered this summer at a resort by scientists from the Subtropical Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. From different varieties of hibiscus flowers, red hibiscus tea is made, which is good for quenching thirst in the heat. Now, due to the invasion of foreign insects, the harvest is almost lost.
As the “MK” was informed in the SNTs RAS, strange consequences, not characteristic of any previously known pest, were discovered only this year. The leaves of the hibiscus were very strongly eaten: scientists found them rolled up and glued into tubes, inside which the larvae fed. They left only veins from the leaves. The swiftness of feeding indicated the high aggressiveness of the pest. This prompted botanists to think about foreign invaders who show such unprecedented aggression.
However, it turned out to be not so easy to determine whose larvae were operating on the Sochi hibiscus. For this, the specialists carried out route surveys, collected caterpillars and pupae and raised them in laboratory conditions. Only after they turned into butterflies, scientists were able to reliably identify the pest. It turned out to be the Asiatic moth Haritalodes basipunctalis Bremer.
Native to her are East Asia, Africa, Australia and Oceania. In Russia, she was previously met only in the Far East. Presumably from there, the fire came to Sochi – with traffic flows, which increased this year due to the large influx of tourists.
In Sochi, the pest can give from 1 to 3 generations per year. Scientists continue to study a new species for the Black Sea coast.
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