Development, Survival and Reproduction of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Fed an Artificial Diet or on Cotton, Castor Bean and Corn Leaves

Abstract

The polyphagy of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) renders its control difficult because variations in the phenology of host plants grown in different seasons of the year and near each other can facilitate the movement of this pest between crops. The objective of this work was to examine certain biological characteristics of S. frugiperda fed on an artificial diet or on cotton, castor bean, or corn leaves. The experimental design was in randomized blocks, with four treatments represented by S. frugiperda caterpillars fed an artificial diet (T1) or pieces of cotton (T2), castor bean (T3) or corn (T4) leaves with five replications (five caterpillars per replication). The duration and survival of the egg, larva, pre-pupa, pupa and egg-adult period and the reproductive characteristics of this insect were determined. The survival, development and reproduction data of S. frugiperda originated from individuals reared with cotton and castor bean leaves were lower than those fed on corn leaves or an artificial diet. The number of nonviable eggs laid by females originated from caterpillars fed on castor bean leaves was higher than those fed on cotton and corn leaves or an artificial diet. The very higher number of unviable S. frugiperda eggs resulting from castor leaves can reduce outbreaks of this pest in cotton and corn crops after the cultivation of that plant, or by intercropping with this plant, in the main producing regions of Brazil.

Biology, Host Selection Behavior and Growth Indices of Invasive Fall Armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on Two Host Plants under Laboratory Conditions

“…But on the contrary, Salem et al, 2021 indicated that the larval duration was not, significantly, different after feeding larvae on maize or castor bean leaves as it was 23.36 and 23.58 days on castor bean and maize, respectively. Also, on similar studies Ramos et al, (2022) recorded the shortest duration of the larval stage of S. frugiperda (16.73 days) after rearing on maize comparing with cotton (25.18 days) and castor bean (21.43 days) at 25 ± 2˚C, relative humidity of 60 ± 10 under laboratory conditions.…”

“…Gamil (2020) demonstrated that the pre-oviposition, oviposition and post-oviposition periods of S. frugiperda females reared during their larval stage on castor beans were 3.5, 5.11 and 2.61 days, respectively, with a mean duration of 11.22 days for female and 13 days for male, and recorded that egg productivity reached 1787.5 eggs on castor leaves. Ramos et al, (2022) indicated that the pre-oviposition, oviposition and post-oviposition periods and fecundity (2.11, 4.67, 1.00 days and 663.78 /♀ eggs, respectively) were higher for S. frugiperda females originating from larvae fed on maize leaves, than that originated from larvae fed on cotton (3.00, 2.50, 0.90 days and 312.11 egg/♀, respectively) or castor bean leaves (3.70, 2.40, 0.90 days and 216.63 egg/♀).…”

Identification of Chelonus sp. from Zambia and Its Performance on Different Aged Eggs of Spodoptera frugiperda

“…Then, each egg mass attached to plastic paper was placed in a petri dish (diameter = 10.5 cm, height = 2.5 cm) containing a piece of artificial diet that was made from Greene et al’s method [ 48 ]. The larvae were reared individually when they reached the third instar in 12-well plastic plate until they emerged as adults [ 49 ].…”

Artificial plant-based diet for mass-rearing larvae of fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda

“…Artificial diets can provide cheap and high-quality test insect diets [9]. Mass rearing of highquality and cheap test insects is still under development, especially artificial diets for S. frugiperda [1,10]. Artificial diets must contain primary compounds such as protein and secondary compounds in the IOP Publishing doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1346/1/012001 2 form of the olfaction of the host plant leaves [11].…”