1. Surveys to determine the extent of crop loss and the incidence of natural enemies of the moth.

Abstract

Coconut palms infested with crazy ants, Anoplolepis longipes, showed losses of up to 71 percent in production on a coconut block in the Markham Valley, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. The losses were a result of abnormal shedding of female flowers and immature nuts due to attacks by the larvae of the coconut spathe moth, Tirathaba rufivena. Palms infested with crazy ants had higher moth populations as well as higher rates of parasitism of moth eggs, larvae and pupae than palms without the ants. The rate of pupal parasitism was relatively high, while larval parasitism was low in palms occupied by the ant It was concluded that reduced larval mortality was responsible for high spathe moth populations and that A. longipes reduced the effectiveness of larval predators, although it was not known how the ant inhibited the foraging activities of predators. The earwig, Chelisoches morio, and other species of ants were considered the most important potential predators of spathe moth larvae