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Banisia myrsusalis Walker (Lepidoptera: Thyrididae) has been regarded as the most damaging pest of sapodilla, Manilkara zapota (L.) van Royen (Sapotaceae), in Florida, where it causes extensive damage to blooms. Two commercial sapodilla groves were surveyed for lepidopteran eggs and larvae affecting floral buds and mature flowers. All collected specimens were raised in the laboratory until adult emergence. A careful revision of reared individuals and specimens deposited in institutional collections since 1990 brought into question the identity of Banisia species affecting sapodilla in southern Florida. Specimens initially identified as B. myrsusalis are herein re-identified as Banisia argutula Whalley, based on female and male genitalic characters. Total DNA was extracted from 2 specimens raised in the survey and the COI gene sequence determined and deposited in GenBank. Larvae of B. argutula were observed chewing holes in the base of floral buds or mature flowers, entering the flower, and consuming all floral structures except the sepals. A single larva would tend to clump several flowers and floral buds together by using silk. Larvae could also fold leaves or bore into the fruit and could complete their immature development feeding on folded leaves, flowers, or inside a fruit. In contrast, B. myrsusalis is reported as strictly a leaf-folder. Banisia myrsusalis was found to be a minor part of the sapodilla pest complex. Banisia argutula was the dominant sapodilla borer in southern Florida. Resumen Banisia myrsusalis Walker (Lepidoptera: Thyrididae) ha sido considerado como la plaga mas danina del zapote Manilkara zapota (L.) van Royen (Sapotaceae) en Florida, causando un excesivo dano a las florez. Dos huertos comerciales de zapote fueron monitoreados debido a que huevos y larvas de lepidopteros afectaban los brotes florales y las flores maduras. Todos los especimenes colectados fueron criados en el laboratorio hasta la emergencia del adulto. Una revision minuciosa de los especimenes criados y de los especimenes depositados en colecciones institucionales desde 1990, puso en cuestion la identidad de la especie de Banisia que afectaba al zapote en el sur de Florida. Especimenes identificados inicialmente como B. myrsusalis son aqui re-identificados como Banisia argutula Whalley basado en las caracteristicas de la genitalia del macho y la hembra. El ADN total fue extraido de dos especimenes criados en el estudio y la secuencia de COI fue determinada y depositada en GeneBank. Las larvas de B. argutula fueron observadas masticando agujeros en la base de los brotes florales y flores maduras, entrando a las flores y consumiendo todas las estructuras florales excepto los sepalos. Una simple larva tiende a agrupar varias flores y brotes florales usando seda. Las larvas pueden incluso enrollar las hojas o perforar dentro de los frutos, y pueden completar su desarrollo inmaduro alimentandose de hojas dobladas, flores o dentro de un fruto. En contraste, B. mysusalis esta reportada estrictamente como enrollador de hojas. Banisia myrsusalis fue encontrada como una parte minoritaria del complejo de plagas de zapote. Banisia argutula es el perforador de zapote comun en el Sur de Florida. View this article in BioOne

Banisia argutula Whalley, 1976 Banisia argutula was described by Whalley (1976) based on Le Moult and Klages specimens in the BMNH. Banisia argutula has been confused with B. myrsusalis Walker since 1990 in south Florida (Myers et al. 2008). It also looks similar to B. aldabrana Fryer, which is found in Africa (Fryer 1912). Both of these other species of Banisia can be distinguished from B. argutula by their male genitalia (Martinez et al. 2017). Description. Egg. Conical and reddish orange with white ridges before eclosion, after which they change to orange with horizontal red wine lines. Larva. First instar orange with gray spots, and a black band on mesothorax through to the dorsal view and dark brown head. Second instar white with black spots; head brown; mesothoracic band as in first instar. Third and fourth instars yellow with black spots; thorax and head copper. Length 8.2���10.9 mm (Fig. 1H). Pre-pupa. Similar to last instar but paler and wider. Adult. Sexually dimorphic, the male smaller and darker than the female. Wing expanse: males 15.4���17.9 mm, females 18.1���19.3 mm. Wings. Dorsal surface: Forewings grayish-brown with dark-brown strigiform markings and two translucent elongated spots in postdiscal area, anterior spot larger than posterior, males sometimes without translucent spots. Costal and median areas orangishbrown. Hindwings with black strigiform markings, no translucent areas. Ventral surface: Both wings pale-gray with black strigiform markings surrounded by pink lines. Head. Antennae: Diminutively ciliate. Vertex: Grayish-brown. Mouthparts: Labial palp copper; third segment smaller than second, with pinkish-purple dot on the tip. Body. Thorax and abdomen: Grayish-brown above and pale-gray below. Legs: Grayish-brown (Fig. 2H). Distribution. Banisia argutula is native to the Neotropics. This moth has been found in French Guiana, Guyana and Suriname (Whalley 1976). Martinez et al. (2017) reported this species from the USA in south Florida based on some specimens previously misidentified as B. myrsusalis. Hosts. Manilkara zapota (L.) van Royen (Martinez et al. 2017). Natural history. Adults are active almost all year, mainly during the rainy season (late May to late October in south Florida). The females lay eggs primarily on the base of the floral buds or open flowers, but will also lay eggs on twigs, leaf buds, and on the fruit. Upon emerging from the egg (after four days), the larva chews a hole in a floral bud, enters the flower, and spins a silk plug covering the entrance hole. While the larva feeds, it covers the walls of flowers or fruits with silk. The larval stage lasts about 12���16 days. Pupation occurs mainly on fruits and flowers. Pupal stage lasts 17���20 days. Damage. The larva chews holes in the base of floral buds or mature flowers, enters the flower, and consumes everything except the sepals. A single larva is able to join together several flowers and floral buds using silk to avoid exposure to predators. Larvae can also feed on leaves rolling them together as well, or bore into the fruit. It can complete its development in the rolled leaves, damaged flowers or inside of the fruit. When flowers are infested with larvae, they turn reddish brown and larval excrement is evident before drying completely. Management. Chemical insecticides have not been thoroughly investigated. There are many natural enemies that help to control B. argutula (e.g. orb weaver spiders, lizards, birds)., Published as part of Martinez, Jose I., Crane, Jonathan H., Wasielewski, Jeff, Miller, Jacqueline Y. & Carrillo, Daniel, 2019, Lepidoptera pests of sapodilla (Manilkara zapota (L.) van Royen) in south Florida, with some comments on life history and natural control, pp. 1-26 in Insecta Mundi 739 (739) on pages 12-13, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3676599, {"references":["Whalley, P. E. S. 1976. Tropical leaf moths: a monograph of the subfamily Striglininae (Lepidoptera: Thyrididae). British Museum Natural History. The Gresham Press; London. 194 p. + 68 pls.","Myers, L., J. E. Pena, R. Duncan, and J. B. Heppner. 2008. Microlepidoptera complex affecting sapodilla (Manilkara zapota van Royen) in Florida. Proceedings of the Florida State Horticultural Society 121: 10 - 13.","Fryer, J. F. C. R. 1912. The Lepidoptera of Seychelles and Aldabra exclusive of the Orneodidae and Pterophoridae and of the Tortricina and Tineina. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 15: 1 - 28.","Martinez, J. I., J. E. Hayden, J. B. Heppner, J. E. Pena, L. Xiao, and D. Carrillo. 2017. Banisia argutula (Lepidoptera: Thyrididae) is the dominant sapodilla borer in southern Florida. Florida Entomologist 100: 57 - 62."]}

Banisia myrsusalis (Walker, 1889) Pyralis myrsusalis Walker, 1859 Pyralis elaralis Walker, 1859 Siculodes cinereola Felder, Felder and Rogenhofer, 1875 Siculodes scallula Guen��e, 1877 Durdara lobata Moore, 1882 Durdara pyraliata Moore, 1882 Durdara zonula Swinhoe, 1886 Striglina radiata Pagenstecher, 1892 Walker (1859) described Banisia myrsusalis from specimens of Tweedie���s collection at the BMNH. Description. Egg. Shiny pink and reddish-brown with white ridges. After hatching, they turn orange as in B. argutula. Larv a. First and second instar are transparent yellow changing to green after feeding; thorax brown. Third and fourth instar as previous, but with two dark-brown lateral patches on thorax. Larva length 6.8���8.9 mm (Fig. 1G). Pre-pupa. Similar to the last instar but paler and wider. Adult. Sexually dimorphic, male cinereous and slightly smaller than female; female reddish-cinereous. Wing expanse: males 19.4���20.1 mm, females 20.8���21.7 mm. Wings. Dorsal surface: Forewings grayish-brown with strigiform markings and from one to three translucent small spots in postdiscal area, anterior spot larger than posterior, bilateral asymmetry may occur. Males sometimes without translucent spots; costal and median areas ochraceous brown. Hindwings without translucent spots; brownish-black strigiform markings and a thin pink marginal line present. Ventral surface: both wings pale-brown with brownishblack strigiform markings surrounded by pale orange. Head. Antennae: Diminutively ciliate. Vertex: Cinereous. Mouthparts: Labial palp cinereous with third segment smaller than second. Body. Thorax and abdomen: Cinereous dorsally and pale-brown ventrally. Legs: Pale-brown (Fig. 2G). Distribution. Banisia myrsusalis is a species that it is native to the Neotropical Region, it was introduced to Asia and had been recorded in the USA mainly in Florida USA (Whalley 1976; Martinez et al. 2017), Brazil (Guen��e 1877; Soares-da Silva et al. 2003; Monteiro et al. 2007). It has also been reported in the West Indies (Pagenstecher 1892; Whalley 1976; Bendicho-Lopez 1998; N����ez-��guila 2004) and Asia including India, Sri Lanka (Sandhu and Sran 1980; Jhala et al. 1988; Patel et al. 1993; Sathish et al. 2013, 2015), Malaysia (Corbett 1929; Holloway 1970), Hong Kong (Ades and Kendrick 2004), Japan (Hiroshi 1998) Indonesia, Madagascar, Thailand (Whalley 1976) and Vietnam (Konvička et al. 1998). Widely distributed in Africa (Whalley 1976; De Prins and De Prins 2019), Papua New Guinea and Australia (Whalley 1976; Herbison-Evans and Crossley 2014). Hosts. Banisia myrsusalis is an oligophagous moth previously associated only with plants of the Sapotaceae including Chrysophyllum cainito L., C. oliviforme L., Madhuca longifolia (J. Konig) J. F. Macbr., Manilkara zapota (L.) van Royen, M. subsericea (Mart.) Dubard, Mimusops elengi L. and Pouteria caimito Radlk.) (Bendicho-Lopez 1998; Robinson 1999; Silva et al. 2003; Monteiro et al. 2007). However, it has also been reported feeding on Terminalia elliptica Willd. (Combretaceae) (De Prins and De Prins 2019), and Ficus sp. (Moraceae), the latter of which is a new host record. Natural history. The adults are active during late summer (early August in southern Florida), increasing their populations during the rainy season. The females have been observed laying eggs mainly on the twigs, leaf buds, and fruit (Soares-da Silva et al. 2003). Four or five days after hatching, the larva rolls up in a leaf and chew a small hole where it starts to feed. When the larva finishes feeding within the leaf, it makes a second hole and moves to another leaf. The larval stage lasts 12���15 days. The pupal stage lasts 16���21 days. Pupation occurs mainly inside rolled leaves. Damage. When leaves are infested with larvae, they are transparent green with many blotch mines. After the larvae emerge from the leaves, the leaves become pale yellowish brown. Management. Contact pesticides are not effective because the larvae feed inside the leaves. For this reason, control is very difficult. Myers et al. (2008) used pesticides in sapodilla without significant effects. During our investigation we saw many predators that are natural enemies of both B. myrsusalis and B. argutula (see, B. argutula management)., Published as part of Martinez, Jose I., Crane, Jonathan H., Wasielewski, Jeff, Miller, Jacqueline Y. & Carrillo, Daniel, 2019, Lepidoptera pests of sapodilla (Manilkara zapota (L.) van Royen) in south Florida, with some comments on life history and natural control, pp. 1-26 in Insecta Mundi 739 (739) on pages 13-14, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3676599, {"references":["Walker, F. 1859. Pyralides. List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum. Heterocera Series 4: 892.","Guenee, A. 1877. Ebauche d'une monographie de la famille Siculides. Annales de la Societe entomologique de France 7: 275 - 304.","Moore, F. 1882. Descriptions of Indian Lepidoptera Heterocera from the collection of the late Mr. W. S. Atkinson. p. 89 - 198. In: C. W. Hewitson and F. Moore. Descriptions of new Indian lepidopterous insects from the collection of the late Mr. W. S. Atkinson. Asiatic Society of Bengal, Taylor and Francis; London. xi + 299 p.","Swinhoe, C. 1886. On the Lepidoptera of Bombay and the Deccan. Pt. II. Heterocera (continued). Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 447 - 476.","Pagenstecher, A. 1892. Ueber die familie der Siculiden (Siculides) Guenee. Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift \" Iris \" 5: 33 - 131.","Whalley, P. E. S. 1976. Tropical leaf moths: a monograph of the subfamily Striglininae (Lepidoptera: Thyrididae). British Museum Natural History. The Gresham Press; London. 194 p. + 68 pls.","Martinez, J. I., J. E. Hayden, J. B. Heppner, J. E. Pena, L. Xiao, and D. Carrillo. 2017. Banisia argutula (Lepidoptera: Thyrididae) is the dominant sapodilla borer in southern Florida. Florida Entomologist 100: 57 - 62.","Soares-da Silva, P. H., C. da Silva, and H. U. de Sousa. 2003. Ocorrencia de Banisia myrsusalis (Walker, 1895) Atacando Sapotizeiro na Regiao dos Tabuleiros Costeiros do Estado do Piaui. Ministerio da Agricultura, Pecuaria e Abastecimento. Comunicado tecnico 157. ISSN 0104 - 7647. Available at http: // ainfo. cnptia. embrapa. br / digital / bitstream / CPAMN- 2009 - 09 / 18817 / 1 / CT 157. pdf. (Last accessed June 23, 2015.)","Monteiro, R. F., M. V. Macedo, M. D. S. Nascimento, and R. S. Cury. 2007. Composicao, abundancia e notas sobre a ecologia de especies de larvas de lepidopteros associadas a cinco especies de plantas hospedeiras no Parque Nacional da Restinga de Jurubatiba, RJ. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 51: 313 - 320.","Bendicho-Lopez, A. 1998. New distributional and foodplant records for twenty Cuban moths. Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 52: 214 - 215.","Sandhu, G. S., and C. S. Sran. 1980. India-new records of Lepidoptera on sapota. Plant Protection Bulletin, FAO 28: 43 - 44.","Jhala, R. C., Z. P. Patel, and A. H. 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D. 1970. The biogeographical analysis of a transect sample of the moth fauna of Mt. Kinabalu, Sabah, using numerical methods. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 2: 259 - 286.","Ades, G. W. J., and R. C. Kendrick. 2004. Hong Kong fauna: a checklist of selected taxa: (including dragonflies, butterflies, moths, ladybird and rove beetles, stick insects, freshwater fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals). Farm and Botanic Garden. Fauna Conservation Department (2 nd edition). Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden; Chai Wan, Hong Kong. 86 p.","Hiroshi, I. 1998. The Zygaenidae, Hyblaeidae, Thyrididae, Limaeodidae, Uraniidae, Sphingidae, Aretiidae and Nolinae (Noctuidae) of the Ogasawara Islands, with additions and corrections to the Geometridae and Pyralidae (Lepidoptera) (Moths of Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands, Part IV). Transactions of the Lepidopterological Society of Japan 49: 271 - 287.","Konvicka, M., K. Spitzer, and J. Jaros, 1998. Notes on Striglininae (Lepidoptera Thyrididae), tropical leaf moths from Vietnam with a description of a new species. Tropical Zoology 11: 1 - 9.","De Prins, J., and W. De Prins. 2019 Afromoths, online database of Afrotropical moth species (Lepidoptera). Available at http: // www. afromoths. net /. (Last accessed June 10, 2019.)","Herbison-Evans, D. and S. Crossley. 2014. Families of Moths in Australia. Available at http: // lepidoptera. butterflyhouse. com. au / cosm / cosmopterigidae. html. (Last accessed September 3, 2015).","Robinson, G. S. 1999. HOSTS-a database of the hostplants of the world's Lepidoptera. Nota Lepidopterologica 22: 35 - 47.","Myers, L., J. E. Pena, R. Duncan, and J. B. Heppner. 2008. Microlepidoptera complex affecting sapodilla (Manilkara zapota van Royen) in Florida. Proceedings of the Florida State Horticultural Society 121: 10 - 13."]}