First record of a nucleopolyhedrovirus infecting brown-tail moth larvae, Euproctis chrysorrhoea (L.) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) in India

Ladakh (Jammu and Kashmir) is the coldest arid region of India, where apricot is a major fruit grown across the region. In recent years, severe infestation by the defoliating caterpillar, brown-tail moth, Euproctis chrysorrhoea (L.) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), on apricot trees has been reported in and around the Batalik sector. During field surveys, dead larvae of the brown-tail moth infected with a nucleopolyhedrovirus (NPV) were found. Electron microscopic studies revealed the typical baculovirus occlusion bodies (OBs) with polyhedral structures. Under a scanning electron microscope (SEM), the OBs of Euproctis NPV appeared to have crystalline structures of variable shapes and sizes which varied from 1.016 to 1.596m. Most of the OBs were tetrahedral and few were of hexagonal in shape. The transmission electron microscope (TEM) images of the OBs revealed the tetrahedral shape. The leaf disc bioassay showed the LC50 of 1x10(4) OBs/ml against second instar larvae of Euproctis chrysorrhoea. The 95% fiducial limits ranged from 1.416 to 2.887. This is the first report of NPV from the brown-tail moth in India from the Ladakh region. NPV being safe and environmentally friendly could be an ideal component for the integrated pest management (IPM) approach to controlling the pest.