Maruca vitrata is a pantropical insect pest of leguminous crops like pigeon pea, cowpea, mung bean and soybean. Its common names include the maruca pod borer, bean pod borer, soybean pod borer, mung moth, and the legume pod borer. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1787.
Maruca vitrata
Maruca vitrata photographed at night, in West Bengal, India.
The cowpea is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus Vigna. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few inputs, as the plant's root nodules are able to fix atmospheric nitrogen, making it a valuable crop for resource-poor farmers and well-suited to intercropping with other crops. The whole plant is used as forage for animals, with its use as cattle feed likely responsible for its name.
Cowpea
Black-eyed peas, a common name for a cowpea cultivar, are named due to the presence of a distinctive black spot on their hilum.
Sea Island red pea a cultivar of cowpea grown by the Gullah people on the Sea islands.
A selection of different cowpea cultivars displayed in a wooden bowl.