Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus, 1758) *

COMMON NAME(S): Diamond Back Moth, Diamondback moth or Cabbage moth.

SYNONYM(S): Cerostoma annulatella Curtis, 1832; Cerostoma maculipennis Curtis, 1832; Plutella niveella Zetterstedt, 1839; Plutella cruciferarum Zeller, 1843; Cerostoma brassicella Fitch, 1855; Plutella limbipennella Clemens, 1860a; Plutella mollipedella Clemens, 1860a; Gelechia cicerella Rondani, 1876; Cerostoma dubiosella Beutenm ̧ller, 1889; Plutella albovenosa Walsingham, 1907; Plutella megapterella Bentinck, 1934.

IUCN STATUS: Not Evaluated (NE).

DISTRIBUTION: Albania, Algeria, Angola, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Cabo Verde, China, Cook Islands, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo. Denmark, Easter Island, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Polynesia, Gambia, Ghana, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Greenland, Hawaii, Hispaniola, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Leeward Islands (Guadeloupe), Lesotho, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Republic of Congo, Réunion, Romania, Russia, Saint-Helena, S„o Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, South Sudan, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, USA, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

LOCALITY IN ZAMBIA: Lusaka **, in Lusaka Province.

LARVAL HOSTPLANT(S): Larval foodplants are Brassica and Solanum species. The diamondback moth lays its eggs only on plants in the family Brassicaceae. Nearly all cruciferous vegetable crops are attacked, but some are favoured over others. These include broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, collard, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, radish, turnip, and watercress. Several wild species in the family also act as hosts, especially early in the season when cultivated crops are unavailable. The egg-laying females have been reported to recognize certain chemicals in the host plants, glucosinolates and isothiocyanates, that are characteristic of the Brassicaceae family (but also occur in some related families). These chemicals were found to stimulate oviposition, even when applied to a piece of paper. One plant species that contains the egg-laying cues is wintercress, Barbarea vulgaris R.Br. Indeed, diamondback moth females lay eggs on this plant species, but the newly hatched larvae die due to the effects of additional natural plant chemicals called saponins in the plant. The African Moths (2019) website lists the following yet to be identified cabbage family, Brassicaceae, species namely Iberis sp., Matthiola sp., Erysimum sp. and Brassica sp., plus one Solanaceae species namely, Solanum lonicera, as larval foodplants of the taxon.

SOURCES: African Moths 2019; IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017-1; Neuenschwander et al. 2003; Yaseen 1978.