Seasonal incidence of pomegranate butterfly, Deudorix livia (Klug) (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) on pomegranate and evaluation of susceptibility degrees of pomegranate varieties to infestation by the pest

Abstract

pomegranate butterfly, Deudorix livia is a dangerous pest that attacks pomegranate orchards in Egypt, causing severe damage and a great loss in yield. The seasonal population dynamics of pomegranate butterfly were investigated on five pomegranate varieties (Wonderfull, Manfaloty, Araby, Nab Al-Jaml, and Wardy) in this study during the seasons of 2021 and 2022 at Sohag Governorate. Results indicated that D. livia started to appear in pomegranate orchards in late May and continued to the early part of October in the five tested varieties in both seasons. Eggs, entrance holes, and emergence holes of the pest showed 4, 3, and 3 peaks of numbers, respectively, in both seasons of the study. The lowest numbers of eggs and entrance holes were observed during May, while the highest numbers were recorded during September and October, in both seasons. For emergence holes, the lowest and highest numbers were observed during June and September, in both seasons. The five pomegranate varieties varied significantly with regard to the number of eggs, entrance holes, and emergence holes in the two seasons. All tested pomegranate cultivars showed varied susceptibility degrees against D. livia. Manfaloty and Wonderful recorded the highest and the lowest attractive variety for infestation by the pest during the two seasons of study.