Opsiphanes cassina Felder (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae),

defoliator of the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacquin) in

Central America

Ramón G. Mexzón1, C.Ml. Chinchilla2

Abstract

The populations of Opsiphanes cassina Felder associated with oil palms in Central America

are normally under control by its numerous natural enemies, but occasional outbreaks

occurred in the past in localized areas. This review describes some details of past out-

breaks, important aspects of the insect (taxonomy, anatomy, life cycle, behavior, sampling,

control and natural enemies), its potential to cause economic damage and the possibilities

to manage the pest through an integrated approach.

Key words: Life cycle, Opsiphanes cassina, Nymphalidae, oil palm, insect pest.

Introduction

Members of the subfamily Brassolinae arerobust hairy and colorful insects. Theyare easy to recognize because of singu-

lar spots (ocellus) below the wings. The grouphas 12 genera, nine of which are distributedfrom Mexico to South tropical America. Lar-vae feed on monocots, particularly Araceae,Musaceae, Heliconiaceae, Poaceae and Brome-liaceae. Larvae of all genera, except Brassolis,have cephalic horn-like appendages.

The genus Opsiphanes has 13 species, six ofwhich are in Costa Rica, and O. cassina has beenthe most frequent pest found in oil palm plan-tations in all Central America. Reliable recordsof most defoliations are not available. The firstdocumented damage occurred in approxima-tely 150 ha in 1972 in an adult plantation loca-ted near the city of Tela on the Atlantic coast ofHonduras. Later in 1977 a new outbreak wasobserved in the same area, but the damage ex-tended to near 250 ha and up to 380 larvae/leafwere counted. This focus grew to more than1,000 ha in 1979 which was associated with 30-60 % bunch yield decrease (Richardson 1981).

Other important defoliations also occu-rred in other adult plantations located alongthe Atlantic coast, particularly in the valley ofthe Aguan River.

In Costa Rica, the pest caused importantdamage in adult plantations located in the Cen-tral (Quepos region, 1982) and South Pacific(Coto, 1984). In Coto, aproximately 260 hawere affected when 150-600 larvae/leaf werefound. Other outbreaks of medium to highmagnitude also occurred in Panamá (Chiriquí),Nicaragua and Guatemala. Outbreaks norma-lly occurred during the rainy season.

Considering the historic importance of thispest in many of the oil palm plantations in Cen-tral America it was considered appropriate tosummarize important aspects of the biology ofthe insect and several control alternatives nowavailable.

ASD Oil Palm Papers, N°36, 14-33. 2011

1Museo de Insectos, Escuela de Agronomía, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José. Costa Rica. gmexzon@gmail.com

2Consultor para ASD Costa Rica P.O. Box 30-1000, San José, Costa Rica. cmlchinchilla@gmail.com

Biology and Behavior

Biology

Adult. A brown moth with a corporal length ofabout 28 mm in the male and wing span of 60-65 mm in the male and 70-75 mm in the female.They both have characteristics transversalorange bands forming a Y on the anteriorwings. On the ventral side of the wings theypresent circular spots (ocellus): one on theanterior wing (black with a yellow halo) andtwo on the posterior wings (one brown with ablack halo and other white with two rings; oneblack and other clear brown). Sexual dimor-phism is well marked with males presenting atuft of white hairs on the posterior wings andyellow glandular openings on both sides of theabdomen. Adults may live for 7-10 days (Table1).

Eggs. Eggs are globose, reticulated, and initia-lly creamy and later show reddish bandscorresponding to the developing embryo.Females lay the eggs on the abaxial (below)part of the leaflets, particularly near the base,individually or in small groups where theyhatch in 5-10 days

Larva. Upon emergence they measure about 7mm and grow to ca. 80 mm in length when theyenter the pre-pupa stage. Initially they are rosein color, with five yellow longitudinal bands.The cephalic capsule is hirsute and black. Withage the larvae take a greencolor with yellow bands (apair on the pleuras and oneon the back that prolongson the cephalic capsule).The head and caudal part ofthe body have horn-likeappendages. There are fivedevelopmental stages thatare completed in 33-62days.

Pupa. Larvae tend topupate on the numerousweeds that normally growon palm stems where theycan blend with the surroun-dings. Initially the pupa islight green with two small

spots with a clear golden tone. Later they turnclear brown. The whole stage takes 10-15 days.

Behavior

Larvae feed on leaves. Adults are attractedto over ripe fruits where they obtain car-bohydrates and proteins from yeasts develo-ping on these substrates. These nutrients arethe necessary fuel for flying and reaching se-xual maturity.

Adults show two activity peaks: one duringthe first hours in the morning (6.00-8.00hours) and the main one late in the afternoon(15.30 - 17.30 hours). Females can mate the se-cond day after emergence from papa and areborn with a full load of eggs which are norma-lly lay late afternoon

Loría et al. (2000) studied the populationdynamic of the insect in the South Pacificcoast of Costa Rica and found that adultsemerge during a period of 2-3 months. Severalconsecutive periods of emergence may occurof about one month each: first (10-15 days)where males predominate, and later appear thefemales to finally reach a near 1:1 sex ratio.

A population increase seems to start fromisolated individuals that migrate to oil palmplantations from the surrounding natural ve-

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Table 1. Life cycle of Opsiphanes cassina

StageDuration (days) Length (mm)*

Mean Range Mean Range

Egg 8.0 5 - 10 2.0 2 -3

Larval stage 41.2 33.5 - 61.8

I 7.5 6.0 - 11.0 7.5 ± 0.5 7 - 9

II 6.0 4.5 - 10.5 28.9 ± 2.9 23 - 30

III 6.0 5.5 - 10.5 39.4 ± 3.3 33 - 42

IV 8.2 5.5 - 11.5 49.0 ± 5.3 40 - 60

V 13.5 12.0 - 18.3 69.3 ± 8.1 53 - 80

Prepupa 1.0 0.5 - 1.6

Pupa 12.0 10.0 - 15.0

Adult 7.0 7.0 - 10.0 28.0 ± 1.0 26 - 31

Total 69.2 57.1 - 98.4

* n= 60, 29.0± 2°C; 87±5% R.H.

getation. Initially, the population starts to in-crease in open areas (i.e. along roads and ca-nals) where tunnel winds are formed which aresupposed to favor the dissemination of phero-mones that aggregate the population even fur-ther. These areas must be closely observed toprevent any further outbreaks.

Larvae are gregarious up to the fourth deve-lopmental stage and from there they are soli-tary. Initially they do not eat much and feedfrom the borders of the leaflets. Upon rea-ching the fourth stage, the larva chooses a lea-flet and feeds moving its head back and forth.This behavior makes a slanting cut on one side

of the central vein of the leaflet and then thelarvae changes position to start a similar cut onthe other side of the vein, which finally leaves acharacteristic arrow-like cut.

Larvae feed during most of the day exceptwhen temperatures are too high. A high popu-lation can be detected by observing the nume-rous excreta on the ground and the noise pro-duced when the droppings hit the vegetationwhich sounds like a light rain. Larvae stop fe-eding for about a day before and soon aftermolting. When they are ready to pupate, mostof them move to the epiphytes growing on thestem.

Damage

A single larva may eat up to three leafletsand most of this forage is consumed by the laststage: up to 76% (432 cm²) of the total con-sumption to complete the whole larval stage(Table 2).

According to Wood et al. (1973) the oilpalm can tolerate a defoliation of 6.25 % (or 17%) of the youngest (or oldest) leaves. This lea-ves a margin to react when an increase in thepopulation of a defoliator is observed. Thistime will allow for an evaluation of the popula-tion of the pest and the efficacy of natural con-trol, before active control measures are taken.

In order to have an idea of the potential da-mage caused by a given number of larvae perleaf, this number is multiplied by the leaf areathat could be consumed by each larval stage.

Doing this exercise for leaf 17 in the phyllo-taxy permits to know if the potential damage isbelow or above a given permitted defoliation.Assuming that an adult oil palm producesabout 6.250 cm² of new foliage every day, thiscould be considered a permitted daily defolia-tion, at least for some time. The results of thistype of exercise appear in Tables 2,3.

The data do not consider the fact that larvaedo not feed for some time before and aftermolting.

It is normally accepted that active controlmeasures have to be taken when damage exce-eds the capacity of the palm to replace the leafarea consumed by the pest in one day, and suchdamage level should not exceed 20% (about1.160 cm²). However, other factors have to be

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Table 2. Estimated of permited daily defoliation per leaf (theoretical)

Daily defoliationper leaf (%)

cm²/leaf/day ofdefoliation

Necessary number of first stage larvae tocause a given percentage of defoliation

None6 250

40156 25

. ² /.

cm day

leaves�

156 25

0 23679

. ² / /

. ² /

cm leaf day

cm day�

5%6 250 5

100312 5

. ² /.

cm day�

�

312 5

0 231359

. ² / /

. ² /.

cm leaf day

cm day�

20%6 250 20

1001250

. ² /.

cm day�

�

1250

0 235 435

. ² / /

. ² /.

cm leaf day

cm day�

It is assumed that an adult palm has 40 leaves. The exercise can be done for each larval stageand the corresponding daily defoliation that could be caused

considered such as palm age, the occurrence ofprevious defoliations, and the abundance of

natural enemies of the pest, weather condi-tions, plant nutrition and other.

Sampling

An efficient sampling method done withthe appropriate frequency will allow the earlyidentification of a developing pest outbreak.The information obtained will permit to actaccordingly, reducing control costs and mini-mizing damage to the plantation and the popu-lation of natural enemies of the pest. It is advi-sable that all field personnel get involved in thephytosanitary monitoring of the plantation,particularly harvesting personnel (quality con-trol and harvester themselves). These person-nel can give the first voice of alarm in case theyobserve some unusual behavior of a given pest,particularly on the cut leaves that are leftbehind on the ground during bunch harves-ting. The information is picked up by thephytosanitary squat that then goes to the spotand takes the necessary information.

Sampling should not be done only under anoutbreak situation in order to determine thenumber of larvae per leaf that justify the use ofan insecticide, but should be a normal part ofthe phytosanitary management of the planta-tion that permits to keep a eye on the evolutionof all potential pests and their natural enemies.When an abnormal increase in the populationof a pest is observed, further observations aredone to follow the evolution of the pest andtheir natural enemies (predators, parasitoids,

entomo-pathogens). All stages of the life cycleshould be sampled (eggs, larvae, pupa andadults).

In some commercial oil palm plantations inColombia, the pytosanitary people check theplantation every other week: first week everyother section and the rest the week after(chessboard faction) Genty (1985). This maybe necessary when outbreaks are imminent,but this is not the situation in most of the plan-tations in tropical America and visits are nor-mally done less frequently. The risk of out-breaks is reduced if the plantation is managedfrom an agro-ecological perspective, whichmeans, among other things, given an adequatenutrition to the palm (opportune, in the rightamounts and balanced), keeping the soil wellaerated and maintaining an adequate weedcontrol that favors the development of the be-neficial flora that harbors and feeds a healthypopulation of predators and parasitoids of po-tential pests.

During increments of the population, a re-liable and fast sampling of O. cassina can bedone by counting larvae on the 80 distal lea-flets of leaf 17 (40 leaflets on each side of therachis) Rhainds et al. (1993). Most larvae (7.85± 0.71) were found on the abaxial portion of

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Table 3. Estimated number of larvae of O. Cassina per leaf that could be allowed withoutcausing economical damage

Larva

Leaf area consumed (cm²)Estimated number of larvae necesary to

cause a theoretical defoliation of:

DailyTotal for thelarval stage

% 0% 5% 20% 50%

I 0.23 1.72 0.40 679 1.359 5.435 13.587

II 0.96 5.76 1.33 163 325 1.302 3.255

III 2.18 13.08 3.02 72 143 573 1.433

IV 10.10 82.82 19.20 15 31 124 309

V 24.35 328.72 76.05 6 13 51 128

Total 432.1 100.00

The data do not consider the fact that larvae do not feed for some time before and after molting

the leaves compared with 1.60 ± 0.42 on theupper portion, which may indicate a strategy toreduce depredation or desiccation. It was con-sidered that 7-10 large larvae on leaf 25 in 2-4

palms/ha represented a critical level of popu-lation. However, the population on leaf 17could give a better idea of the potential damage(Rhainds et al. 1993).

Natural Enemies

Some notable increments in the popula-tions of some Pentatomidae (Alcaeorrhynchusgrandis Dallas, Mormidea sp., Podisus spp. andProxys punctulatus (Duvois de Palisoth)) accom-panied the population increments of O. cassinain the central Pacific of Costa Rica in 1990.These insects were common in the vegetationgrowing on the ground (including the covercrop of Pueraria phaseoloides Bentham) wherethey preyed on larvae of several Lepidoptera,including Anticarsia gemmatalis Hubner (Noc-tuidae) and Estigmene acrea Drury (Arctiidae).

Under normal conditions, the individualbugs are dispersed and are hard to spot, butwhen there is a defoliator outbreak, they aggre-gate and several thousand of individuals maybe present within one single hectare. Pentato-mid bugs are generalist predators and during adefoliator (Lepidoptera) outbreak they, andsome birds (Quiscalus mexicanus and Psaracolicesmonctezuma, Icteriidae), can drastically reducethe pest population since they eat largeamounts of prey in a short time.

Some Hymenoptera are important parasi-toids of O. cassina. Telenomus (Scelionidae) andto a lesser extend Ooencyrtus (Encyrtidae) para-site eggs. Cotesia (Braconidae) and Horismenus(Eulophidae) attack larvae; Conura (Chalcidi-dae) and several tachinid flies parasite larvaeand pupae, and Brachymeria (Chalcididae) iscommon on pupae. Horismenus and Brachymeriamay also be hiper-parasitoids of Cotesia sp. andConura spp., respectively (Table 4).

The population of all these and other para-sitoids depends on the availability of plantswith nectaries and flowers where the adultforms feed and take the necessary energy tomove around the plantation. This is particular-ly true for Cotesia sp. and Conura spp. that onlyfly for short distances compared with tachinicflies that can fly longer distances.

Some entomopathogens may also reducethe pest population. In the case of O. cassina,Paecilomyces sp. and a nuclear polyhedrosis vi-rus may infect larvae.

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Table 4. Biological regulation of the populations of Opsiphanes cassina in Central America

Stage Regulation factor for the different stages

Eggs Ooencyrtus sp.: 1-4 micro-wasps emerge/egg. For Telenomus sp.: 6-11 wasps/egg

Larvae

Conura sp. (L-P): 12-16 wasps/pupaCotesia sp. (L-L): several dozens of wasps/larvaHorismenus sp. (L-L): as above. Can be an hyper-parasitoid on Cotesia sp.Tachinidae n. i.(L-P): 4-8 flies/pupa

Hemiptera bugs: Alcaeorrhynchus grandis, Mormidea sp., Podisus sp.

Fungus: Paecilomyces sp.VirusBirds: Quiscalus mexicanus, Psaracolices Monctezuma

PupaBrachymeria sp: a wasp/pupa. Hyper-parasitoid of Conura spp.Predator bugs

Adult Birds

From Mexzón and Chinchilla (1996).

L-L = parasitoid completes development in the larva;

L- P = parasitoid on larva and emerges as an adult from pupa

Viruses are very specific and effective(Genty and Mariau 1975; Luchini et al. 1984;Orellana 1986; Sipayung et al. 1989), and when

applied with sub-lethal doses of a insecticidesuch as a Deltametrin (i.e. DECIS 2.5.% E.C.,30 cc/ha) a synergistic effect is achieved.

Nectariferous Plantas

There is a large number of plants on whichmany adult forms of parasitoids of O. cassinafeed (Table 5). For example, Cotesia sp. visits

Ageratum conyzoides L., Baltimora recta L (Astera-ceae), Amaranthus spinosus L. (Amarantaceae),Byttneria aculeata Jacquin (Sterculiaceae), Cassiatora L. (Leguminosae), and Vitis sycioides L. (Vi-taceae); Horismenus sp. feeds on B. aculeata, Cas-sia reticulata Willdenow (Leguminosae), C. tora,Melanthera aspera L. (Asteraceae), Scleria mela-

leuca Schlechtandlal and Cham (Cyperaceae)and V. sycioides; and Conura sp. feed on A. spino-sus, B. aculeata, C. tora, M. aspera, S. melaleuca, So-

lanum jamaicense Miller (Solanaceae), Urena lo-bata L. (Malvaceae) and V. Sycioides.

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Table 5. Relative abundance of families of insects (parasitoids on Opsiphanes cassina) on several plantspecies in Costa Rica*

Plant species Tachinidae Braconidae Chalcididae Eulophidae Encyrtidae Scelionidae

Ageratum conyzoides VF A A VF VF -

Amarantus spinosus A C A C VF VF

Baltimora recta VF C A C VF VF

Byttneria aculeata - C A F F F

Cassia guatemalensis - F C - - -

Cassia reticulata - C C C VF F

Cassia tora VF C A VF VF VF

Chamaesyce hirta A F A F - -

Melanthera aspera * * - C C C C F

Priva aspera - C F VF - -

Scleria melaleuca * * VF C A C VF VF

Senna stenocarpoides ** - C A C F F

Solanum jamaicense F C A F F VF

Spermacoce laevis VF F C F VF VF

Triunfetta semitriloba - C A F - F

Urena lobata ** A F A F - -

Vitis sycioides A C A F C C

Tachinidae: unidentified species (parasitoid on larvae); Braconidae: Cotesia sp. (parasitoid on larvae); Chalcididae:Conura spp. (parasitoid on larvae) Eulophidae: Horismenus sp. (parasitoid on larvae); Encyrtidae: Ooencyrtus sp.(parasitoid on eggs; Scelionidae: Telenomus sp. (parasitoid on eggs).

Relative abundance: VF = Very few (1-9 individuals in 10 plants of the same species); F = few (1-4 individualsper plant); C = Common (5-15 individuals per plant); A = Abundant (more than 15 individuals per plant).

* From Mexzón (1997).

** These species could be planted along roads and other open areas within the oil palm plantation.

Chemical Control

Some 'biological' insecticides such as Dipel(Bacillus thuringiensis) have been successfullyused to control Opsiphanes outbreaks, and atthe same time, causing less damage to its natu-ral enemies and the oil palm pollinators. Biolo-gical toxins (EVISECT, PADAN and others),

inhibitors of chitin synthesis (triflumuron, di-flubenzuron, etc.) have also been used, takenthe necessary precautions to reduce the impacton the natural regulators of the pest. However,contact insectides were used only on spotapplications (Table 6).

Integrated Management

The program should be based on a systema-tic monitoring of the different life stages of theinsect across the plantation. Such monitoringshould be the responsibility of well trainedpersonnel (pest scouts), but it is also a goodidea that other field personnel get involved, inparticular those working in quality harvestingcontrol, since they walk large areas of the plan-tation and can take a look to pruned leaves onthe ground and observe if something unusualis occurring with respect to a pest population.If this is the case, they can give the voice ofalarm to the phytosanitary personnel who willtake the matter from there.

Once an unusual increment in the popula-tion of a potential pest is detected, the person-nel evaluate the condition of natural enemies

in order to have an idea about its ability to con-trol the pest by themselves without additionalintervention. An integrated management pro-gram for a defoliating pest like O. cassinashould consider the following:

1. Sampling of the different stages of O. cas-sina and its natural enemies

a. All stages should be considered. Eggs are exami-ned to determine the percentage of parasitism.Normal eggs are white and transparent with tworose bands indicating the presence of a healthydeveloping embryo. Parasitized eggs are blackor orange indicating the presence of Telenomussp. or Ooencyrtus sp.

b. Counting the number of each larval stage perleaf. Larvae are counted on the last 80 terminalleaflets in leaf number 17

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Table 6. Some insecticide products used during outbreaks of Opsiphanes cassinapopulation*

Group Genetic name Commercial name Doses/ha

Biological toxin Cartap Padan *** 0.5 - 1.0 kg

Biological insecticide Bacillus thurigiensis Dipel 0.8 - 2.5l

Chitin synthesis inhibitors Triflumuron Alsystin**** 0.075 - 0.1 kg

Teflubenzuron Dart***

Diflubenzuron Dimilin ***

Pyrethoids Esfenvalerate Asana ****

Cypermethrin Capture ****

Deltamethrin Decis ****

From Monge (1985).

* This list cannot be taken as recommendations by the authors

** Only on spot applications (normally less than 20 ha), when the population of natural enemiesis considered too low. Its use should be considered highly restricted

*** Can be used with very low doses (sub-lethal) of pyrethroids

**** Used with sub-lethal doses (0.025-0.03 l/ha).

c. Counting the number of predators like hemipte-rous bugs (adults and immature individuals) onleaf 17. The data are complemented counting allindividuals on the ground vegetation growingwithin the area of four contiguous palms. Theprocedure is repeated at four sites per hectare

d. Gathering parasitized pupae and larvae toobtain an estimate of parasitism. Parasitized lar-vae may show a package of small white casesbelow the body corresponding to Cotesia sp. orHorismenus sp. pupae. Parasitized pupae of O. cas-sina are dark and have a faulty smell. Horismenussp may act as a primary parasitoid or a Cotesia sp.hyperparasitoid.

2. Inmediate actions

a. Delimitation of the area affected

b. Use of an appropriate fill-out form to writedown the information obtained

c. Data processing and development of a strategyto follow

3. Cultural aspects

a. An area suffering recurrent attacks of any defo-liator must be subjected to a serious study todetermine if agronomic conditions are appro-priate for maintaining a healthy plant. Specialattention should be given to soil aeration condi-tions (any drainage or compaction problems,for example), nutritional unbalances (particu-larly high nitrogen contents in the leaves)

b. Collect and eliminate pupae when possible

c. Management of the associated vegetation by al-lowing the development of a varied flora capa-ble of sustaining a healthy population of parasi-toids and predators. There is a large variety ofplants that can be planted in open areas. Some ex-

amples are Urena lobata, Scleria melaleuca, Sennastenocarpoides and Melanthera aspera. During anoutbreak, weed control has to be done in such amanner that no such plants are eliminated. Forthis purpose, weed control personnel must betrained recognizing such plants

4. Biological control

a. Reproduction and release of predatory bugsand parasitoid wasps

5. Lures and pheromones

a. Placement of traps containing an attractant andfood bait for adults (Loría et al. 2000). Thesetraps can be maintained at a low density all yeararound in the plantation, and upon an increasein adult captures, the amount of traps per area isincreased. A good trap is a plastic bag which iscollapsed to reduce the opening to a narrow en-trance, so the alate adults can get in, but once in-side, cannot leave. The bags contain pieces ofsugar cane on the bottom and a plastic bottlewith holes to release the volatiles from a mix-ture of molasses and yeast.

b. Planting plant species that can feed other Lepi-doptera in order to maintain a healthy popula-tion of depredatory bugs. A combination of M.aspera, Lantana camara L. and Stachytarpheta ja-maicensis Miller (Verbenaceae) can achieve thisresult.

6. Chemical control

a. Spot application of insecticides

b. Alternate applications of B.t., pyrethroids, nere-istoxin, chitin inhibitors, etc.

c. Repeated applications within a restricted are tobreak the pest life cycle

Literature

Chinchilla C.M. 1993. Fauna perjudicial en palmaaceitera. ASD de Costa Rica, Costa Rica. pp.13-20.

De Vries P.J. 1987. The butterflies of Costa Ricaand their natural history. Princeton UniversityPress, U.K. 327 p.

Genty P, Mariau D. 1975. Utilización de un ger-men entomopatógeno en la lucha contra Sibinefusca. Oléagineux 30 (8/9): 349-354.

Loría R., Chinchilla C., Domínguez J., Mexzón R.2000. An effective trap to capture adults ofOpsiphanes cassina (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

and observations on the behavior of the pestin oil palm. ASD Oil Palm Papers Nº 21: 1- 8.

Luchini F., Morin J.P., Rocha de Souza R.L., daSilva J.C. 1984. Perspectivas del uso de ento-movirus para el combate de Sibine sp., defolia-dor de la palma aceitera en Pará. Pesquisa enAdamento Nº 23. 5 p.

Mexzón R.G. 1997. Malezas atractivas de la ento-mofauna en los cultivos de palma aceitera ypejibaye. IV Congreso Costarricense de Ento-mología. San José, Costa Rica (17-21 nov.1997).

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Mexzón R., Chinchilla C.M. 1996. Enemigos natu-rales de los artrópodos perjudiciales a la palmaaceitera (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) en AméricaCentral. ASD Oil Palm Papers Nº 13: 9-33.

Monge V., L.A. 1985. Manejo racional de insectici-das: resistencia y rotación. 1 edición. EditorialTecnológica de Costa Rica, Cartago, CostaRica.

Orellana F. 1986. Control biológico del defoliadorde la palma aceitera, Sibine fusca Stoll (Lep., Li-macodidae). INIAP, Bol. Divulgativo Nº 170.Est. Exp. Santo Domingo, Ecuador. 10 p.

Rhainds M., Chinchilla C.M., Castrillo G. 1993.Desarrollo de un método de muestreo de laslarvas de Opsiphanes cassina en palma aceitera.Manejo Integrado de Plagas Nº 30: 15-18.

Sipayung A., Desmier de Chenon R., Sudharto P.S.1989. Recent work with viruses in the biologi-cal control of leaf-eating caterpillars in NorthSumatra, Indonesia. pp. 285-293. In. Proc.PORIM Int. Palm Oil Development Conf. Su-kaini, J. et al., eds. PORIM, Malaysia.

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Fig. 1. Above: adults of Opsiphanes cassina. Below left: characteristic leaf cut left by a fully grown larvawhile feeding. Right, below, pupa

Arriba: adulto de Opsiphanes cassina. Izquierda abajo. Corte en bisel característico de las larvasen las hojas de las palmeras. Derecha abajo. Pupa

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Fig. 3. Trap for attracting and capturing Opsiphanes cassina adults. The plastic bag has sugar cane pieceson the bottom and a plastic bottle with a mix of molasses and yeast

Trampa para la captura de adultos de Opsiphanes cassina. La bolsa lleva caña de azúcar en elfondo y una botella plástica (que se amarra con un cordel a una base peciolar) con una mezcla demelaza y levadura

Fig. 2. Opsiphanes cassina larvae being attacked by a group of Pentatomid nymphs (left) and a parasitoidwasp (right)

Larvas de Opsiphanes cassina atacadas por un grupo de chinches pentatómidos (izquierda) y unaavispa parasitoide (derecha)