In quantitative feeding experiments, larvae of Grammodes stolida (Fab) consumed significantly more of mature leaves than young and senescent leaves of Lannea coromandelica (Houtt). The maximum leaf consumption was by the third instar. The amount of food consumed by the penultimate and final instars comprised 72.6% of the total larval consumption. Food utilisation indices, namely approximate digestibility (AD), efficiency of conversion of ingested food (ECI), and efficiency of conversion of digested food (ECD) showed a significant decrease during the second larval stage. The bionomics of the moth were studied in relation to its survivability and reproductive potential on Lannea coromandelica which appears to be a potential host which the pest could colonise during periods of non-availability of other crop hosts.
