Ectomyelois ceratoniae
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Ectomyelois ceratoniae, the locust bean moth, more ambiguously known as "carob moth", is a moth of the family Pyralidae. It has a nearly cosmopolitan distribution. The larvae are translucent white, with the internal organs visible from the outside. They feed on the seeds and pods of a wide range of plants, including Punica granatum, Citrus fruit, Pistacia vera, Juglans regia, Prunus dulcis, Macadamia integrifolia, Acacia farnesiana, Caesalpinia sappan, Cassia bicapsularis, Ricinus, Erythrina monosperma, Haematoxylum campechianum, Prosopis juliflora, Samanea saman, Phoenix dactylifera, and Ceratonia siliqua. It is a considerable agricultural pest, recognized as the most economically damaging pest of the date industry in California. In many regions around the world, it also damages many other high-value nut and fruit commodities such as almonds, pistachios, macadamias, pomegranates, and stone and pome fruits.
Pheromone mimic lures are commercially available. In 2007, the California date Phoenix dactylifera industry produced 17,700 tons of dates on 5,900 acres, with a gross value of about $31.86 million. During the past 25 years, the locust bean moth has caused between 10 and 40% damage of the harvestable crop annually, which equates to roughly $3.1 – $12.7 million in economic losses, not including control costs.
Until recently, the only current of controlling locust bean moth was malathion dusting, three or four times per growing season. Because of the height of the palm trees (sometimes over 50 ft), commercial treatments were applied exclusively by powerful dusting equipment that delivers the insecticidal dust through a hand-directed tube. This produces a "fog" of insecticide during application that essentially blankets the ground with malathion, which is wasteful and creates unintended nontarget effects on other animal species, as well as "environmental pollution". Furthermore, the accumulation of the malathion dust on the skin of dates creates problems with desiccation of the fruit, reducing the overall quality of the product. Encroachment of date gardens and urban areas has been forcing the California date producers to move away from malathion dusting, but until recently, no other alternatives for locust bean moth control were available.
The mimic pheromone used in monitoring lures also provided a viable nontoxic alternative of locust bean moth control. When the mimic pheromone is formulated into SPLAT, it can be used to control moth populations through "mating disruption" in date gardens and pomegranate and almond orchards. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
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More parks will be added in future updates.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Locust Bean Moth sighting in Hong Kong on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 648th most-seen of the 1125 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March and April
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Locust Bean Moth in Hong Kong on a given day, against under 5% in May to February, the lowest months.
2nd of 4
Of the 4 cities where we can rate Locust Bean Moth sightings, Hong Kong ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Tel Aviv (Israel, about 10%).
Same family: Pyralidae
The closest relatives of the Locust Bean Moth that you can see in Hong Kong (family Pyralidae, Pyralid Snout Moths) are Guastica semilutea (about 10%), Nephopterix ochribasalis (about 10%) and Copamyntis leptocosma (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Locust Bean Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Hong Kong (14 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
