Noctuidae moths occurring in grape orchards in Serra Gaúcha, Brazil and their relation to fruit-piercing

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Noctuidae moths occurring in grape orchards in Serra Gaúcha, Brazil and their relation to fruit-piercing. There is no study aiming to investigate if Noctuidae moths are responsible for piercing cultivated fruits in South America. This research aims to survey noctuid moths and list the species with mouth-parts (proboscis) morphology that suggest the capacity to cause damages to grape orchards in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Catches were carried out weekly from late November 2007 to late March 2008 (fructification period) using light traps and McPhail traps in three grape orchards in the region of Serra Gaúcha. The catches resulted in 187 taxa, with 149 identified at the specific level and 38 at genus level. The proboscises of representative taxa were removed and analyzed under stereomicroscope and scan electron microscope. It was verified that only Oraesia argyrosema (Hampson, 1926) and Gonodonta biarmata Guenée, 1852 show proboscis with suitable morphology for piercing rind and pulp of a grape berry. Achaea ablunaris (Guenée, 1852); Ascalapha odorata (Linnaeus, 1758); Letis mineis Geyer, 1827; Mocis latipes Hübner, 1823; Ophisma tropicalis Guenée, 1852, and Zale exhausta (Guenée, 1852) show proboscis only adapted to lacerate the pulp. The proboscis morphology of the remaining noctuid moths suggests lack of capacity to cause damage. Despite the presence of species capable of piercing grape berries, the populations of such species are very reduced and unable to cause damage of economic level.

Biotic potential, fertility and life table ofSpodoptera albula (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), under controlled conditions

“…These results also indicate that the extended longevity of S. albula, like other species of the genus such as S. dolichos (Fabricius, 1794), S. eridania (Stoll, 1782), S. exigua (Hübner, 1808), S. frugiperda (J.E. Smith, 1797) and S. ornithogalli (Guenée, 1852) which have a great ability for dispersal and even migration (Ferguson et al 1991), is related to its wide distribution within the American Continent, extending between the parallels 30° North and South (Pogue 2002, Angulo et al 2008, Zenker et al 2010). …”

“…S. albula (Walker, 1857) has been recorded from Florida to Southern Texas, throughout the Caribbean, Central America, and from Venezuela south to Paraguay and Southern Brazil (Pogue 2002, Zenker et al 2010, and Chile (Angulo et al 2008). S. albula has been erroneously referred to as "Spodoptera sunia (Guenée, 1852)", which is currently recognized as Neogalea sunia (Guenée, 1852), representative of the subfamily Cuculliinae (Poole 1989).…”

Defoliation ofTerminalia catappaby Larvae ofThagona tibialis(Lepidoptera: Erebidae) in Viçosa, Brazil1

“…comm.). Males vary in color from light to dark brown [insects from Morro Reuter, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil (Zenker et al 2010)] to white (insects from Viçosa), but those from the same egg mass have the same color. The costal margin of the female forewing may have a narrow black stripe.…”

“…comm.). Adult males have wing patterns that vary depending on the region of occurrence (Zenker et al 2010).…”

Occurrence of Selenisa sueroides (Guenée, 1852) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in soybeans in Brazil

“…More recently, in Vale dos Vinhedos, in serra gaúcha, a S. sueroides moth was collected in grape vines (Zenker et al, 2010).…”