Castor Capsule Borer
Conogethes punctiferalis
📖 Description
Castor Capsule Borer is a major pest of castor in the Indian subcontinent, causing 20-50% yield loss in castor-growing states of Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan. The larva bores into castor capsules and feeds on developing seeds, causing capsule drop and reduced oil content. Beyond castor, the pest is also a serious pest of cardamom (where it’s called Cardamom Capsule Borer) and a minor pest of ginger, turmeric and sunflower. The pest’s bright yellow adult coloration (wasp-mimicry) is distinctive and aids in monitoring. The pest is most severe during the kharif castor season (August-November). IPM with Bt, light trapping and resistant varieties provides good control and is widely adopted by Indian castor growers.
⚠️ Symptoms to watch for
- Bore holes on capsules with extruded frass and webbed capsule fragments, capsule drying and premature dropping, webbed cluster of damaged capsules, damaged seeds with reduced oil content, yield loss 20-50%
🩹 Treatment
- Handpick and destroy infested capsules (small plantings), install light traps @ 1/ha, spray NSKE 5% at flowering, apply need-based insecticide at capsule formation stage, remove alternate hosts (wild castor) around fields
🌿 Organic treatments
- Bacillus thuringiensis @ 2 g/L at capsule formation, NSKE 5%, neem oil 5 ml/L, Beauveria bassiana @ 5 g/L, handpick and destroy webbed capsule clusters, install light traps @ 1/ha
🧪 Chemical treatments
- Emamectin benzoate 5 SG @ 0.3 g/L, Chlorantraniliprole 18.5 SC @ 0.3 ml/L, Indoxacarb 14.5 SC @ 0.5 ml/L, Quinalphos 25 EC @ 1.5 ml/L, Lambda-cyhalothrin 5 EC @ 0.5 ml/L — apply at capsule formation and repeat at 15-day interval
🛡️ Prevention
- Plant resistant varieties (GCH-7, DCH-519), avoid close spacing, remove alternate hosts (wild castor, wild cardamom) around fields, monitor with light traps @ 1/ha, intercrop with non-host (pigeonpea, mungbean), destroy crop residues after harvest
🪴 Affected plants
- Castor, Cardamom, Ginger, Turmeric, Maize Tassels, Sunflower, Peach, Plum, Apple (occasionally)
🦋 Natural predators
- Trichogramma chilonis, Telenomus, Birds (drongo, myna), Spiders, Predatory Bugs, Lacewing Larvae
🌱 Host plants
- Ricinus communis, Elettaria cardamomum, Zingiber officinale, Curcuma longa
🔄 Lifecycle
- Female lays 100-300 eggs singly on capsules and tender inflorescences.
- Eggs hatch in 4-7 days.
- Larva bores into capsule and feeds for 15-25 days through 5 instars.
- Pupation in silken cocoon inside capsule or in plant debris, lasting 8-15 days.
- Adult lifespan 10-20 days.
- Total life cycle 30-50 days; 4-6 generations per year.
📅 Season
- August-November (kharif castor season), peaks Sep-Oct
🔎 Appearance
- Adult is a bright yellow moth with black spots on wings and abdomen (resembling a wasp — yellow with black spots).
- Larva is a pinkish-brown caterpillar with a dark head and small dark spots on the body, found inside castor capsules.
💥 Damage level
- Severe
🔁 Reproduction rate
- Rapid
🗺️ Geographic regions
- Indian Subcontinent
- South Asia
- Southeast Asia
- East Asia
- Australia
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