Feeding and Life History of Alabama argillacea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on Cotton Cultivars Producing Colored Fibers

Abstract

Quantitative analysis of the consumption and use by herbivore pest's of the host plant is a common tool used for studying the interaction between insects and plants. Our goals were to quantify cotton leafworm, A/a¿)ama argillacea (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), larval consumption rate in three cotton, Qos.njpium hirsutum L., cultivars that produce colored cotton fibers, and the effects of the consumption rate on A. argillacea pupal weight in greenhouse conditions. Larvae consumed a maximum of 0.69-1.03 g of leaf tissue over a 24-h period in all cultivars tested. Total consumption by A. argillacea larvae was highest when fed with 'BRS 200' leaves (2.89 g) and the lowest when fed with leaves from 'BRS Safira' (2.26 g). The regression analysis showed significant relationships between the quantity of leaf tissue consumed and pupal weights for each cotton cultivar. A. argillacea larvae fed on BRS 200 demonstrated a longer developmental period (14.84 d) than larvae fed on 'BRS Rubi' leaves (11.62 d) or BRS Safira (11.14 d). We concluded that BRS Safira presents the best quality food source for A. argillacea, BRS 200 is the worst, and BRS Rubí is intermediate. The longer developmental times of A. argillacea on BRS 200 may allow longer windows of opportunity for the use of biological control agents to reduce the damage caused by this pest and also would complete less generations per phenological cycle of the cotton crop.

How predation by Podisus nigrispinus is influenced by developmental stage and density of its prey Alabama argillacea

“…Alabama argillacea (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is considered the main defoliating pest of cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum L., Malvaceae) in Brazil (Nascimento et al., ; Ramalho et al., ). In the Brazilian South‐Central region, it is considered a late pest (Oliveira et al., ); however, in the Northeast region, except for the State of Bahia, this pest attacks cotton plants during their early stages and may occur sporadically when the cotton crop reaches its maturity stage (Ramalho, ).…”

Feeding and Dispersal Behavior of the Cotton Leafworm, Alabama argillacea (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), on Bt and Non-Bt Cotton: Implications for Evolution and Resistance Management

“…In Brazilian cotton-growing regions, this pest can infest the crop at any stage in its phonological development [2] . In Southern–Central Brazil, it is considered a late pest [3] , but in the Northeast, with the exception of Bahia State, it attacks in the initial stages and can occur sporadically when the crop has matured [2] . The cotton leafworm, is highly destructive as one of the main defoliating pests of cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum Linnaeus ) in Brazil [4] .…”

Descripción de un periodo del ciclo de vida de Alabama argillacea (Erebidae: Lepidóptera)

“…Sin embargo, muestra su mayor abundancia en las zonas donde se cultiva algodón (Medeiros et al, 2003). Por ello, A. argillaceae es conocida como la oruga de la hoja de algodón y se considera la mayor plaga de este cultivo, con alto impacto en la productividad en Brasil, Argentina, Colombia, México, Nicaragua, Perú y Estados Unidos (Galdino et al, 2021;Nascimento et al, 2011;Maza et al, 2006).…”