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Datasheet

Biston suppressaria (tea looper)

Summary

  • Last modified
  • 28 March 2017
  • Datasheet Type(s)
  • Pest
  • Natural Enemy
  • Preferred Scientific Name
  • Biston suppressaria
  • Preferred Common Name
  • tea looper
  • Taxonomic Tree
  • Domain: Eukaryota
  •     Kingdom: Metazoa
  •         Phylum: Arthropoda
  •             Subphylum: Uniramia
  •                 Class: Insecta
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Identity

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Preferred Scientific Name

  • Biston suppressaria Guenée

Preferred Common Name

  • tea looper

Other Scientific Names

  • Buzura suppressaria (Guenée)

International Common Names

  • English: looper caterpillar; tung oil tree looper

Taxonomic Tree

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  • Domain: Eukaryota
  •     Kingdom: Metazoa
  •         Phylum: Arthropoda
  •             Subphylum: Uniramia
  •                 Class: Insecta
  •                     Order: Lepidoptera
  •                         Family: Geometridae
  •                             Genus: Biston
  •                                 Species: Biston suppressaria

Distribution Table

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The distribution in this summary table is based on all the information available. When several references are cited, they may give conflicting information on the status. Further details may be available for individual references in the Distribution Table Details section which can be selected by going to Generate Report.

CountryDistributionLast ReportedOriginFirst ReportedInvasiveReferencesNotes

ASIA

ChinaPresentAPPPC, 1987
-AnhuiPresentPeng et al., 1991
-FujianPresentPeng et al., 1991
-GuangdongPresentPeng et al., 1991
-GuangxiPresentWu & Tang, 1981; Liang, 1990
-HubeiWidespreadPeng et al., 1991
-HunanPresentGan, 1981
-JiangxiPresentShi, 1985
-ShanghaiPresentPeng et al., 1991
-SichuanPresentPeng et al., 1991
-ZhejiangPresentPeng et al., 1991; Wang et al., 1998
India
-AssamPresentDas, 1963; Das, 1965
-Tamil NaduPresentCranham, 1966; Moore, 1884
-Uttar PradeshPresentGupta, 1988
-West BengalPresentMayukh et al., 2007
IndonesiaPresentMuraleedharan, 1991
Sri LankaPresentDanthanarayana, 1966; Cranham, 1966; Moore, 1984-1987

Host plants/Plants Affected

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Plant nameFamilyContext
Acacia (wattles)FabaceaeMain
AlbiziaFabaceaeMain
Camellia sinensis (tea)TheaceaeMain
Chrysanthemum indicum (chrysanthemum)AsteraceaeOther
Dalbergia latifolia (blackwood)FabaceaeMain
EucalyptusMyrtaceaeMain
Litchi chinensis (lichi)SapindaceaeOther
Mangifera indica (mango)AnacardiaceaeMain
Paulownia tomentosa (paulownia)ScrophulariaceaeMain
Phyllanthus emblica (Indian gooseberry)EuphorbiaceaeOther
Prunus domestica (plum)RosaceaeOther
Prunus salicina (Japanese plum)RosaceaeOther
Psidium guajava (guava)MyrtaceaeOther
Vernicia fordii (tung-oil tree)EuphorbiaceaeMain

Growth Stages

Top of pageFlowering stage, Fruiting stage, Post-harvest, Vegetative growing stage

List of Symptoms

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SignLife StagesType

Leaves

external feeding

Natural Enemies

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Natural enemyTypeLife stagesSpecificityReferencesBiological control inBiological control on
ApantelesParasiteLarvae
Apanteles fabiaeParasiteLarvae
Bacillus thuringiensis finitimusPathogenLarvae
Bacillus thuringiensis thuringiensisPathogenLarvae
Nucleopolyhedrosis virusPathogenLarvae
Trichogramma dendrolimiParasiteEggs

Plant Trade

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Plant parts liable to carry the pest in trade/transportPest stagesBorne internallyBorne externallyVisibility of pest or symptoms
BarkNo
LeavesNo
Stems (above ground), Shoots, Trunks, BranchesNo

References

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Andrews EA, 1931. Caterpillar pests of the tea plant, and of green manure plants and shade trees in use on tea estates. Part II. The looper caterpillar (Biston suppressaria Guen.), QJ Indian Tea Association, 2:129-144.

Anon., 1975. Annual scientific report. Calcutta, India: Tocklai Experimental Station, Tea Research Association.

APPPC, 1987. Insect pests of economic significance affecting major crops of the countries in Asia and the Pacific region. Technical Document No. 135. Bangkok, Thailand: Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific region (RAPA).

Barbora AC, 1995. Sulphur management for tea in northeastern India. Sulphur in Agriculture, 19:9-15.

Beeson CFC, 1941. The ecology and control of the forest insects of India and the neighbouring countries. Dehra Dun, India: Published privately, Vasant Press (Copyright: Government of India).

Binu Antony, Sinu PA, Sudripta Das, 2011. New record of nucleopolyhedroviruses in tea looper caterpillars in India. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, 108(1):63-67. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022201111001133

Borisova KB, 1954. The injurious activities of the hairy Geometrid (Biston hirtarius Cl) in the flood forests of the Southern Ural Region and its entomophagous enemies. Rud. Zool. Inst., 16:457-464.

Borthakur MC, Raghunathan AN, 1987. Biological control of tea looper with Bacillus thuringiensis.. Journal of Coffee Research, 17(1):120-121.

Chen Xuefen, Yin Kunshan, 1987. Pest fauna of tea plant in China and its integrated management. In: Proceedings of the International Tea Quality Human Health Symposium, November, 1987, Hangzhou, China, 154-159.

Cranham JE, 1966. Defoliating caterpillars. In: Insect and Mite Pests of Tea in Ceylon and their Control. Monograph on Tea Production in Ceylon, No. 6, 46-61.

Danthanarayana W, 1966. Twig and Looper Caterpillar outbreaks. Tea Quarterly, 106-113.

Danthanarayana W, 1967. Tea entomology in perspective. Tea Quarterly, 38(2):153-177.

Danthanarayana W, Kathiravetpillai A, 1969. The bionomics of tea looper (Biston suppressaria Guen.) (Lepidoptera: Geometridae). Tea Quarterly, 40(2/3):71-83

Das C, Gope B, 1987. Towards better control of Looper. Two and a Bud, 34(1-2):10-16.

Das GM, 1963. Some important pests of tea. Two and a Bud, 10:4-8.

Das GM, 1965. Pests of tea in north east India and their control. Tocklai Experimental Station Memorandum No.27. Assam, India: Tea Research Association.

Gan YK, 1981. Studies on the nuclear polyhedrosis virus of Buzura suppressaria. Acta Entomologica Sinica, 24(4):372-378

Gupta BP, Singh YP, 1988. New record of Buzura (Biston) suppressaria (GuenTe) (Geometridae: Lepidoptera) as a pest of mango and some other fruit trees. Progressive Horticulture, 20(3-4):362-364

Hu ZH, Arif BM, Jin F, Martens JWM, Chen XW, Sun JS, Zuidema D, Goldbach RW, Vlak JM, 1998. Distinct gene arrangement in the Buzura suppressaria single-nucleocapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus genome. Journal of General Virology, 79(11):2841-2851; 25 ref.

Hu ZH, Arif BM, Sun JS, Chen XW, Zuidema D, Goldbach RW, Vlak JM, 1998. Genetic organization of the HindIII-I region of the single-nucleocapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus of Buzura suppressaria. Virus Research, 55(1):71-82; 38 ref.

Liang BuFeng, Liu MingFu, 1997. Isolation of pure genotype of Buzura suppressaria [Biston suppressaria] nuclear polyhedrosis virus in infected insect larvae. Acta Phytophylacica Sinica, 24(2):187-189; 2 ref.

Liang GX, 1990. Eucalypts, new hosts of Buzura suppressaria. Forest Pest and Disease, 2:7

Mayukh Sarker, Bina Pradhan, Ananda Mukhopadhyay, 2007. Feeding biology and digestive enzymes of Buzura suppressaria Guen. and Eterusia magnifica Butl., two major defoliating pests of Camellia sinensis from Darjeeling plains, India. Munis Entomology & Zoology, 2(1):29-38. http://www.munisentzool.org

Moore F, 1884-87. Lepidoptera of Ceylon. London, UK: L Reeve & Co.

Muraleedharan N, 1991. Pest management in tea. Valparai, Tamil Nadu, India: United Planters' Association of Southern India Tea Research Institute, 130 pp.

Pathak S, Saud BK, 1997. Occurrence of Buzura suppressaria on chrysanthemum in Assam. Indian Journal of Entomology, 59(4):437.

Peng H, Xie T, Jing F, ZhangY, Liu YS, 1991. Study of viral pesticide with high effect without environmental pollution in China. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Tea Science, Shizuoka, Japan, 1991, 680-683.

Qi YP, Ye LB, Yin YN, Liu NC, Zhang YC, Yu YZ, 1985. Field trial of BsNPV against tung oil tree loopers. Chinese Journal of Biological Control, 3:19

Rau GN, 1973. Current pest problems in tea in South India. UPASI ea. Sci. Dep. Bull., 30:18-31.

Rau S, Ananda A, 1936. Report of Entomologist. Ep. Ea Sci. ep. Un Pl. Ass. S. India, 1935-36, 35-45.

Seneratne KADW, 1986. Insect and mite pests of tea. In: Sivapalan P, Kulasegaram K, Kathiravetpillai A, eds. Hand Book on Tea. Talawkelle, Sri Lanka: Tea Research Institute of Sri Lanka, 88-108.

Shi YE, 1985. The economical effect of large-area control of Buzura suppressaria with BsNPV. Chinese Journal of Biological Control, No. 3:46

Wang GuoYun, Shen Qiang, Xu ZhenLu, Zhang SiBai, Jiang GuoQiang, 1998. The important pests occurring in the main arbutus producing areas in Zhejiang province. South China Fruits, 27(2):29-30.

Wang WX, 1987. Investigation of parasites of Buzura suppressaria GuenTe. Chinese Journal of Biological Control, 3(1):46

Wu FY, Tang KF, 1981. Isolation and identification of an insect-pathogenic strain, CW-I. Weishengwuxue Tongbao, 8(3):101-102

Xie TE, Peng, 1979. Identify and isolated of B suppressaria NPV. Acta Virological Sinica, Special issue, 11-14.

Yu CX, 1985. A preliminary study of rearing Buzura suppressaria with artificial diets. Natural Enemies of Insects (Kunchong Tiandi), 7(2):70-71

Yuan RL, 1985. Studies on the control of tung oil tree geometrid Buzura suppressaria (Lep.: Geometridae) by Trichogramma dendrolimi (Hymen.: Trichogrammatidae). Natural Enemies of Insects, 7(3):129-132

Zhu BX, Xiao HY, Peng XM, Liu H, Huang JJ, 1986. Biology and control of Buzura suppressaria GuenTe. Acta Entomologica Sinica, 29(2):229-230

Distribution Maps

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Distribution map China: Present
APPPC, 1987China: Present
APPPC, 1987China
See regional map for distribution within the countryChina
See regional map for distribution within the countryChina
See regional map for distribution within the countryChina
See regional map for distribution within the countryChina
See regional map for distribution within the countryChina
See regional map for distribution within the countryChina
See regional map for distribution within the countryChina
See regional map for distribution within the countryChina
See regional map for distribution within the countryChina
See regional map for distribution within the countryIndonesia: Present
Muraleedharan, 1991Indonesia: Present
Muraleedharan, 1991India
See regional map for distribution within the countryIndia
See regional map for distribution within the countryIndia
See regional map for distribution within the countryIndia
See regional map for distribution within the countrySri Lanka: Present
Danthanarayana, 1966; Cranham, 1966
  • = Present, no further details
  • = Evidence of pathogen
  • = Widespread
  • = Last reported
  • = Localised
  • = Presence unconfirmed
  • = Confined and subject to quarantine
  • = See regional map for distribution within the country
  • = Occasional or few reports
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Distribution map (asia) China: Present
APPPC, 1987Anhui: Present
Peng et al., 1991Fujian: Present
Peng et al., 1991Guangdong: Present
Peng et al., 1991Guangxi: Present
Wu & Tang, 1981; Liang, 1990Hubei: Widespread
Peng et al., 1991Hunan: Present
Gan, 1981Jiangxi: Present
Shi, 1985Shanghai: Present
Peng et al., 1991Sichuan: Present
Peng et al., 1991Zhejiang: Present
Peng et al., 1991Indonesia: Present
Muraleedharan, 1991Assam: Present
Das, 1963; Das, 1965Tamil Nadu: Present
Cranham, 1966; Uttar Pradesh: PresentWest Bengal: Present
Mayukh et al., 2007Sri Lanka: Present
Danthanarayana, 1966; Cranham, 1966
Distribution map (europe)
Distribution map (africa)
Distribution map (north america)
Distribution map (central america)
Distribution map (south america)
Distribution map (pacific) China: Present
APPPC, 1987Indonesia: Present
Muraleedharan, 1991