Bionomics and Control of Lethe europa Fabricius

The brushfooted butterfly Lethe europa Fabricius is a serious pest of the bamboo, Phyllostachys pubescens Mazel ex H. de Lehaie, Phyllostachys bambusoides Sieb. et Zucc. According to our observation, this insect has three generations a year and overwi nters as pupa in Shaowu, Fujian Province. The adults begin to appear in mid April the following year. They lay their eggs on the underside of the leaf. The egg stage lasts 6 to 9 days. Six instars are observed in the larval development. Larvae of the first to third instar aggregate on the leaf. Beginning from the fourth instar, the larvae tend to disperse and curl up the leaf. The larval stage of the three generations lasts from 40 to 62,27 to 46, and 32~50 days respectively. The pupal stage of the first generation lasts 12 to 16 days, the second 8 to 14 days and the third 180 to 199 days. Its major natural enemies are ants and tachina flies. The following control measures are effective: collecting larval bag; DDVP used as smoke or spraying with 2.5% Deltamethrin.