Cost-Effective Binomial Sequential Sampling of Western Bean Cutworm, Striacosta albicosta (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Egg Masses in Corn

Abstract Background The Egyptian cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is one of the major insect pests, causing a significant damage on different cultivated agricultural crops. Developing an alternative non-chemical tool, an effective and environmentally friendly method to suppress pest's infestation is essentially needed. Therefore, biological control by releasing the egg parasitoids could be the most promising tool for integrated pest management. Results This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of the egg parasitoid, Trichogrammatoidea bactrae Nagaraja (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) as a bio-control agent against S. littoralis egg masses with different physical characteristics (number of egg layer and degree of scale density) in a no-choice and choice tests, under laboratory conditions. Also, the parasitoids’ fitness in terms of parasitism percentage, developmental period, adults’ emergence percentage, female offspring percentage, and longevity were investigated. The results revealed that T. bactrae wasps had a great ability to parasitize S. littoralis egg masses, but with different rates, related to their layers and scales’ thickness in both tests. The highest parasitism percentage was observed on one-layer eggs, followed by two layers. However, 3-layer eggs were the least preferable one. High numbers of adult emergencies (> 80%) were observed in all tested egg masses, except in the case of 3 layers with high scales. Furthermore, female-biased sex ratios were noticed at all examined eggs, with only the exception of high-scaly eggs with a single layer that recorded the lowest rate (≤ 45%). Besides, the survival of adult female parasitoids was not significantly affected in both tests. Conclusions T. bactrae could be used as a bio-control agent against S. littoralis egg masses with different physical characteristics based on the achieved results.

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Effect of Telenomus remus Nixon (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) Density on Control of Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Egg Masses upon Release in a Maize Field

Revista Brasileira de Milho e Sorgo ◽

10.18512/1980-6477/rbms.v1n2p12-19 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 12-19 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

M.L.C. Figueiredo ◽

T.M.C.D. Lucia ◽

I. Cruz

Keyword(s):

Spodoptera Frugiperda ◽

Egg Masses ◽

Maize Field ◽

Lepidoptera Noctuidae ◽

Telenomus Remus

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First Report of Western Bean Cutworm (Striacosta albicosta ) in Pennsylvania

Crop Management ◽

10.1094/cm-2010-0616-01-rs ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 1-4 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

John F. Tooker ◽

Shelby J. Fleischer

Keyword(s):

First Report ◽

Western Bean Cutworm ◽

Striacosta Albicosta

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First Report of Native Parasitoids of Fall Armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda Smith (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Mozambique

Insects ◽

10.3390/insects11090615 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. 615

Author(s):

Albasini Caniço ◽

António Mexia ◽

Luisa Santos

Keyword(s):

Relative Abundance ◽

Spodoptera Frugiperda ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Insect Pest ◽

Fall Armyworm ◽

Egg Masses ◽

Native Parasitoids ◽

Cropping Season ◽

Parasitism Rates ◽

Lepidoptera Noctuidae

The alien invasive insect pest Spodoptera frugiperda Smith (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), commonly referred to as fall armyworm (FAW), is causing significant losses to maize production in Africa since its detection in 2016. As an emergency response, governments in several countries distributed and/or promoted massive use of synthetic insecticides among smallholder farmers to fight FAW. The inappropriate use of synthetic insecticides by non-trained and ill-equipped farmers raises environmental and health concerns. This study aimed to assess the occurrence of native parasitoids of FAW, their parasitism rates, and relative abundance in the central province of Manica, Mozambique. A field collection of FAW egg masses and larvae was conducted from May to August 2019 (dry season of the 2018/2019 cropping season) and in December 2019 and January 2020 (rainy season of 2019/2020 cropping season). A total of 101 egg masses and 1444 larvae of FAW were collected from infested fields. Five larval parasitoids were recorded, but no egg parasitism was observed. Coccygidium luteum Brullé (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and Drino quadrizonula Thomson (Diptera: Tachinidae) were the primary parasitoids. Maximum parasitism of 23.68% and 8.86% and relative abundance of 100 and 96.3 were recorded for C. luteum and D. quadrizonula, respectively. Total parasitism by different parasitoid species was at 9.49%. Cultural practices favoring the action of these parasitoids should be advocated.

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