page_title: Agapanthus
section_title: Pests
hierarchical_section_title: Agapanthus / Cultivation / Pests
caption_attribution_description: English: Neuranethes spodopterodes Noctuidae. Agapanthus borer. Damage to buds of inflorescence. Larva exposed in central bud.
context_page_description: Agapanthus is the only genus in the subfamily Agapanthoideae of the flowering plant family Amaryllidaceae. The family is in the monocot order Asparagales. The name is derived from Greek: ἀγάπη, ἄνθος.
  Some species of Agapanthus are commonly known as lily of the Nile, or African lily in the UK. However, they are not lilies and all of the species are native to Southern Africa, though some have become naturalized in scattered places around the world.
  Species boundaries are not clear in the genus, and in spite of having been intensively studied, the number of species recognized by different authorities varies from 6 to 10. The type species for the genus is Agapanthus africanus. A great many hybrids, and cultivars, have been produced. They are cultivated throughout warm areas of the world. They can especially be spotted throughout Northern California. Most of these were described in a book published in 2004.
context_section_description: As a rule Agapanthus species are pest-hardy, neither being much attacked nor drastically affected by common garden pests. However, since the early 21st century Agapanthus in the far south of South Africa have fallen victim to a species of Noctuid moth, the Agapanthus Borer, Neuranethes spodopterodes. The larvae of the moth bore into the budding inflorescence and as they mature they tunnel down towards the roots, or emerge from the stem and drop down to feed on the leaves or rhizomes. A severe attack promotes rot and may stunt or even kill the plant; even plants that survive commonly lose most of their inflorescences and fail to produce the desired show of flowers.
  Though Neuranethes spodopterodes is invasive in the regions where it has emerged as a pest, it is not an exotic invader, but a translocated species, having been imported inadvertently from its natural range in more northerly regions of the country. In its original range the moth is not of horticultural importance, being controlled by natural enemies that as yet have neither been identified nor imported along with the host plants. In contrast the Agapanthus borer is of considerable concern in the South West, and its voracity is so impressive that the species shows promise as a possible control for invasive Agapanthus praecox in countries like New Zealand.
  In 2016, a new species of gall midge, Enigmadiplosis agapanthi, was described damaging Agapanthus in the United Kingdom.
caption: Neuranethes spodopterodes in affected inflorescence buds, the central specimen opened to reveal larvae
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