Evaluation of Bagworm, Metisa plana (Lepidoptera: Psychidae) Infestation and Beneficial Parasitoid in an Oil Palm Plantation, Perak, Malaysia

Abstract

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) planting is one of the economic pillars of countries rich in biodiversity in tropical regions. However, pest and disease are the most serious limitation of oil palm production. Bagworm, Metisa plana (Lepidoptera: Psychidae) is considered the most destructive pest in the oil palm plantation in Malaysia, which could cause high yield losses up to 43% over two years after a serious infestation and become a primary concern among stakeholders. Conventional excessive use of pesticides causes serious environmental pollutions and damage to non-target organisms. Thus, biological control can be reduced the pest populations safely and efficiently by beneficial insects such as parasitoids. This study aims to (i) evaluate the bagworm infestation in an oil palm plantation, Perak, Malaysia; (ii) determine the impact and damage of the bagworm stages on the oil palm plantation, and (iii) evaluate the parasitoid in such areas. A total of 57 palm trees have been systematically selected. Bagworm and parasitoid samples were collected in two stages at Felda Gunung Besout 2, Perak, Malaysia. Bagworm infestation severity was performed based on the severity scale of bagworm damage symptoms. The results showed that the incidence rates of oil palm trees are concerned 50.9%, 31.6%, 4%, 3.5% were low, moderate, high, and no incidence, respectively. Bagworm stages 1, 5, 6, and 7 are significantly impacted on the oil palm incidences and stage seven is the most impacted one; followed by stages 1, 6 and 5. Several parasitoids have been found; the highest one is Eulophidae: Tetrastichus s planipennisi.

A bagworm damaging chestnut trees in Vietnam

“…Bagworms comprise approximately 1,000 species, all of which complete their larval development within a self-enclosing bag, made of silk and plant material (Okore et al 2019;Lelana et al 2022;Jia and Wu 2023). These pests have caused significant damage to various tree species by feeding on their foliage, including Metisa plana in oil palm plantations in Malaysia (Thaer et al 2021), eleven bagworn species on various forest tree species in Indonessia (Lelana et al 2022), and Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis on Delonix regia in Nigeria (Okore et al 2019). One of the most visible symptoms is defoliation, where the caterpillars feed on the leaves of host trees.…”

Gene Co-Expression Network Analysis Reveals Key Regulatory Genes in Metisa plana Hormone Pathways

“…Amongst them, Metisa plana Walker (Lepidoptera: Psychidae) has emerged as a serious yield-impeding concern of the recent time [8,9]. The M. plana infestation reduces the production of fruit bunches which directly impacts the quantity and quality of the oil production [9]. According to Halim et al (2017), M. plana infestation reduces up to 57% of oil palm productivity [10].…”