Records of two species of Tortricidae moths feeding on Macaranga species (Euphorbiaceae) as their host plants in a Bornean tropical rainforest

Abstract

The genus Macaranga (Euphorbiaceae), which is distributed in tropical Southeast Asia, contains myrmecophytic species that exhibit symbiotic relationships with ants. Such myrmecophytes depend on ants for defense when attacked by herbivores. Although there have been records of larvae of the family Tortricidae feeding on the leaves of Macaranga trees, tortricids have not yet been identified. Herein, we report two species of Tortricidae that feed on myrmecophytic Macaranga species during their larval stages in a Bornean tropical rainforest. Gatesclarkeana idia larva was found on the inflorescence of Macaranga bancana and reared inside the laboratory on the inflorescence as food, reaching the adult stage. Homona coffearia larva was found on the leaves of Macaranga beccariana, from which symbiotic ants were experimentally removed and reared inside the laboratory on the leaves until they reached the adult stage.