Immature stages of Spodoptera cosmioides (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae): developmental parameters and host plants

Abstract

ABSTRACT. The goal of this study was to detail the temporal and morphological parameters of the immature stages of Spodoptera cosmioides (Walker, 1858) and to gather information about their larval host plants. Larvae were reared on artificial diet and under controlled conditions (25 ± 1°C, 70 ± 10% RH and 14 hour photophase). The viability of eggs, larvae (pre-pupae period inclusive) and pupae were 98.97, 97.33, 97.95 and 94.76%, respectively. The average duration of egg, larval, pre-pupal and pupal stages was 3.82, 19.24, 3.20 and 14.81 days, respectively. A small proportion of females (9.48%) passed through seven instars, and female development was significantly slower than male development. The female larvae that developed through six and seven instars exhibited a mean growth rate of 1.63 and 1.49, respectively. Overall, female pupae were significantly larger, exhibiting slower development than males. One hundred and twenty six plants belonging to 40 families are listed as hosts of S. cosmioides, mainly including Solanaceae, Fabaceae, Asteraceae and Poaceae. KEY WORDS. Armyworm, artificial diet, development, life cycle, soybean pod armyworm.

The Granulate Cutworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae): Biological Parameters Under Controlled Conditions, Host Plants, and Distribution in the Americas

“…It is interesting to note the significantly longer pupal stage duration of males in relation to females ( Table 3 ), also reported to other species of Noctuinae ( Montezano et al 2013a , 2014b , 2015a , 2019a ; Specht and Roque-Specht 2016 ). The longer duration of the pupal stage in males balanced the longer duration of the larval stage in females, and therefore, the emergence of the males and females happened at roughly the same time.…”

“…This variation was not expected since the individuals were reared under identical conditions. However, major weight variations were also observed in species of Spodoptera reared under similar conditions ( Montezano et al 2013a , 2014b , 2015a , 2019a ; Specht and Roque-Specht 2016 ).…”

“…It was expected that the marked sexual dimorphism in the size of the larva, pupa ( Tables 2 and 3 ; Fig. 12 ), and adult ( Lafontaine 2004 ) would cause the larger females to develop through an additional instar, as observed in other Lepidoptera ( Esperk and Tammaru 2006 , 2010 ; Esperk et al 2007a , b ), including several other species of owlet moths such as representatives of Spodoptera Gueneé, 1852 ( Montezano et al 2013a , 2014b , 2015a ; Specht and Roque-Specht 2016 ).…”

Defoliation of Soybean Expressing Cry1Ac by Lepidopteran Pests

“…The bioecological characteristics of the Spodoptera complex (polyphagia, great voracity in feeding, high reproductive capacity, migration behavior, host races) [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ] added to some precedents of insecticide resistance and the natural tolerance of Spodoptera spp. to the Cry1A protein [ 32 , 33 ], making it necessary to evaluate their behavior with Bt soybean.…”

Where and when? How phenological patterns of armyworm moths (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) change along a latitudinal gradient in Brazil

“…While information on the geographic distribution and host plants of the South American Spodoptera species is available (Pogue, 2002; Specht & Roque-Specht, 2016), data regarding the duration and period of occurrence are very limited (Murúa et al ., 2006). When available, most of the documentation comes from laboratory experiments, which are usually limited to local findings, not taking into account the natural fluctuations across a wide latitudinal scale (Bavaresco et al ., 2004; Zenker et al ., 2010; Montezano et al ., 2013; Almeida et al ., 2014; Montezano et al ., 2014).…”