The Biology and Ecology of Heliothis-Armigera (Hubner) and Heliothis-Punctigera Wallengren (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) in Australia - What Do We Know

Abstract

The taxonomy and identification of Heliothis armigera and H. punctigera, their distribution and host plants in Australia, the effect of host plant on reproduction and on the development and survival of immature stages, their movements, population biology and dynamics, and their control, are reviewed. Areas where further study is desirable include: the nature of host plant selection and host species preference; adaptability to new cultivars; effects of host plant on development; detailed life-table studies on different host plants; the contribution of predation, parasitism and disease to mortality; factors responsible for fluctuations in populations between years, including the origins of outbreak populations; and control strategies other than insecticide treatment.

High nucleotide diversity and limited linkage disequilibrium in Helicoverpa armigera facilitates the detection of a selective sweep

“…Within the genus, however, relationships between species are less clear often due to morphological similarities. For instance, crop damage by H. armigera in Australia is sometimes misattributed to H. punctigera and vice versa (Zalucki et al, 1986). H. armigera and its New World counterpart, H. zea were once thought to constitute one cosmopolitan species but Hardwick (1965) placed them into separate species groups when he distinguished five species groups on the basis of penis structure: armigera, gelotopoeon, hawaiiensis, punctigera, and zea.…”

Lepidoptera (Insecta) associated with soybean in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay

“…Many of these plants are used to produce food, fiber, and oils in Brazil. In addition, the caterpillars prefer the reproductive parts of the plants, but also injury the vegetative structures with a high capacity of economic impact (ZALUCKI et al, 1986).…”

Whole genome sequence and comparative genomic sequence analysis of Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedrovirus (HearNPV-L1) isolated from India

“…These viruses are known to play role for gene delivery vectors for human gene therapy [13] and for display system for complex eukaryotic proteins [6,20]. The gram pod borer H. armigera is an important pest that feeds on a number of agricultural and other economically important plants and is recorded on more than 120 host-plants causing severe crop losses to over 80 cultivated crops throughout tropical and sub-tropical region of our planet [30,31]. H. armigera has developed a resistance to all groups of chemical insecticides [29], In order to mitigate the resistance developed, several options have been explored for the control of this devastating pest.…”