Use of DNA Barcoding to Confirm Invasive Banana Skipper Erionota torus (Evans) from Malabar Region of Kerala

Invasion of banana leaf roller Erionota spp. has been noticed in banana plantations of Malabar region of Kerala a part of Western Ghat, India. Researchers currently proposed that banana leaf roller E. thrax and E. torus occur together in Kerala and many have treated them as a single species. Currently there is no published information regarding whether, one or both the species of Erionota coexist during the seasonal outbreak of banana skipper. Since the early stages of E. thrax and E. torus cannot be distinguished easily, and as they are common pests of banana, morphological identification of species is difficult. Species level identification is essential in the implementation of effective biological control programmes to manage this pest. This study is aimed to use DNA barcoding to confirm the invasive Erionota species from Malabar region of Kerala. The COI sequences of the banana skipper confirms the existence of E. torus species in the infested areas and all the parasitoid species collected during the course of study where that of E.torus .The life cycle and invasiveness and seasonal fluctuations were also studied. Adult lay small creamy yellow eggs on the under surface of banana leaves. After hatching the various larval instars cause severe damage to leaves by feeding and rolling. This prevents traditional use of leaves, lowers banana yields, fruit maturity and the bunch size. The invasiveness was more during monsoon and post monsoon seasons, ranging from 10 to 40% and up to 50% loss of plant leaf area.