Pink bollworm

Pink Bollworm
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Gelechiidae
Genus:	Pectinophora
Species:	P. gossypiella
Binomial name
Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders 1844)
Synonyms
Depressaria gossypiella Saunders, 1844 Gelechia gossypiella Platyedra gossypiella Gelechia umbripennis Walsingham, 1885

The pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella), Spanish: lagarta rosada, is an insect known for being a pest in cotton farming. The adult is a small, thin, gray moth with fringed wings. The larva is a dull white, eight-legged caterpillar with conspicuous pink banding along its dorsum. The larva reaches one half inch in length.

Caterpillar

Illustrated Life Cycle

The pink bollworm is native to Asia, but has become an invasive species in most of the world's cotton-growing regions. It reached the cotton belt in the southern United States by the 1920s. It is a major pest in the cotton fields of the southern California deserts.

The female moth lays eggs in a cotton boll, and when the larvae emerge from the eggs, they inflict damage through feeding. They chew through the cotton lint to feed on the seeds. Since cotton is used for both fiber and seed oil, the damage is twofold. Their disruption of the protective tissue around the boll is a portal of entry for other insects and fungi.

In parts of India, the pink bollworm is now resistant to first generation transgenic Bt cotton (Bollgard cotton) that expresses a single Bt gene (Cry1Ac).^[1] Monsanto has admitted that this variety is ineffective against the pink bollworm pest in parts of Gujarat, India.^[2]. Infestation on susceptible cotton is generally controlled with insecticides. Once a crop has been harvested, the field is plowed under as soon as possible to stop the life cycle of the new generation of bollworm. Unharvested bolls harbor the larvae, so these are destroyed. The plants are plowed into the earth and the fields are irrigated liberally to drown out remaining pests. Some farmers burn the stubble after harvest. Surviving bollworms will overwinter in the field and reinfest the following season. Populations of bollworms are also controlled with mating disruption, chemicals and releases of sterile males which mate with the females but fail to fertilize their eggs.

Footnotes

1. ^ Bagla, P. (2010). "Hardy Cotton-Munching Pests Are Latest Blow to GM Crops". Science 327 (5972): 1439. Bibcode 2010Sci...327.1439B. doi:10.1126/science.327.5972.1439. PMID 20299559.  edit
2. ^ Bt cotton ineffective against pest in parts of Gujarat, admits Monsanto [1]

General reference

• New Standard Encyclopedia, © 1990 Chicago, Illinois

External links

• Pink bollworm IPM
• Species Profile- Pink Bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella), National Invasive Species Information Center, United States National Agricultural Library. Lists general information and resources for Pink Bollworm.

This article on a moth of the Gelechiidae family is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Gelechiidae Agricultural pest insects Invasive animal species Gelechiidae stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу Mean Street Muhan Khan Look at other dictionaries: pink bollworm — noun larvae of a gelechiid moth introduced from Asia; feeds on the seeds of cotton bolls • Syn: ↑Gelechia gossypiella • Hypernyms: ↑bollworm • Member Holonyms: ↑Gelechiidae, ↑family Gelechiidae * * * noun …   Useful english dictionary pink bollworm — pink′ boll′worm n. ent bollworm 1) • Etymology: 1905–10 …   From formal English to slang pink bollworm — the larva of a gelechiid moth, Pectinophora gossypiella, that feeds on the seeds of the bolls of cotton and was introduced into cotton growing regions of the world from Asia. Also called bollworm. [1905 10] * * * …   Universalium pink bollworm — noun Date: 1906 a small dark brown moth (Pectinophora gossypiella) whose pinkish larva bores into the flowers and bolls of cotton and is a destructive pest in most cotton growing regions …   New Collegiate Dictionary pink bollworm — /pɪŋk ˈboʊlwɜm/ (say pingk bohlwerm) noun the larva of a Queensland moth, Pectinophora scutigera, which usually feeds on a native hibiscus but also attacks cotton …   bollworm — ☆ bollworm [bōl′wʉrm΄ ] n. 1. a kind of moth larva (Platyedra gossypiella) that feeds on developing cotton bolls, ears of corn, tomatoes, etc.: also called pink bollworm 2. CORN EARWORM …   English World dictionary Bollworm — A bollworm is a common term for any larva of a moth that attacks the fruiting bodies of certain crops, especially cotton. The most common moths known as bollworms are:* Red or Sudan Bollworm: Diaparopsis * Rough Bollworm: Earias buegeli * Spotted …   Wikipedia bollworm — /bohl werrm /, n. 1. See pink bollworm. 2. See corn earworm. [1840 50, Amer.; BOLL + WORM] * * * Any larva of various moth species, including the pink bollworm (family Gelechiidae) and some Heliothis species (family Noctuidae; see corn earworm).… …   Universalium bollworm — noun any of various moth caterpillars that destroy cotton bolls • Hypernyms: ↑caterpillar • Hyponyms: ↑pink bollworm, ↑Gelechia gossypiella, ↑corn earworm, ↑cotton bollworm, ↑tomato fruitworm, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary pink — розовый pink bollworm розовый коробочный червь хлопчатника shell pink розовый цвет с желтоватым отливом pink discoloration появление розовых пятен parlour pink «розовый», салонный радикал pink champagne розовое шампанское …   English-Russian travelling dictionary 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”