Daphnis nerii (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae), a New Pest of Oleander on Guam, Including Notes on Plant Hosts and Egg Parasitism

Abstract

Daphnis nerii (L.), the oleander hawk moth, was first detected on Guam in August, 2005. In the field, larvae were observed feeding only on oleander, Nerium oleander L. However, in laboratory feeding tests, larvae survived to adulthood equally well on N. oleander and Ochrosia mariannensis A. DC., indicating that some endemic plants may be impacted by this invasive insect. Thirty out of thirty two D. nerii eggs collected from oleander leaves were parasitized. These eggs produced 181 hymenopterous parasitoids belonging to four species: Trichogramma chilonis Ishii (Trichogrammatidae), Eupelmus sp. (Eupelmidae), Telenomus (Aholcus) sp. (Scelionidae), and Ooencyrtus nr. papilionis (Encyrtidae).