Host plants and habitats of Helicoverpa punctigera and H. armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in inland Australia

Abstract

For Helicoverpa punctigera (Wallengren), and to a lesser extent Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner), native host plants in non-cropping regions of inland Australia are believed to be contributors to populations which migrate in spring to infest cropping regions of south-east Australia, and southwestern Australia. Non-crop hosts were sampled using sweep nets in 71 survey trips in 19 years between 1987 and 2017 for larvae of H. punctigera and H. armigera, over about 2.4 million km 2 in inland Australia. Of 1976 samples, H. punctigera larvae were present in 50.5%, distributed throughout the study area. Larvae were found on 106 host plant species in 24 families, including 61 new host records. H. armigera larvae were found on 33 plant species from eight families, including 14 new host records. However, only 4.3% of samples were positive for this species, and they were mostly in the east of the study area and had fewer larvae than the positive H. punctigera samples. H. punctigera larvae were found in each of six habitats, being, in order of mean numbers per sample: sandy deserts > floodplains > mulga, grasslands and saltbush > stony downs. Host status was determined for both species by plotting relative incidence against relative abundance, and the good hosts for H. punctigera differed between habitats. We discuss the value and limitations of this approach for identifying key hosts in broad scale population dynamics, and primary hosts which may have close co-evolutionary histories with the insects.

Life history traits of a key agricultural pest, Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae): are laboratory settings appropriate?

“…; Gregg et al . ). Laboratory studies have ranged from chemical and molecular to physiological and behavioural (e.g.…”

“…Not surprisingly, H. armigera is the subject of intense study worldwide both in the laboratory and in the field (e.g. Zalucki et al 1986;Armes et al 1992;Downes & Mahon 2012;Tay et al 2013;Gregg et al 2019). Laboratory studies have ranged from chemical and molecular to physiological and behavioural (e.g.…”

Influence of Non-lethal Doses of Natural Insecticides Spinetoram and Azadirachtin on Helicoverpa punctigera (Native Budworm, Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Under Laboratory Conditions

“…To determine how a non-lethal dose of insecticides can influence the physiology of an insect, we chose a common Australian Lepidoptera pest species H. punctigera . This species is native to Australia and uncommon in other countries ( Gregg et al, 2018 ). Adults of the H. punctigera can migrate long distances, adapt to different environments and have a wide range of host plants.…”

“…Adults of the H. punctigera can migrate long distances, adapt to different environments and have a wide range of host plants. In Australia, they have become a critical pest species in Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia ( Gregg et al, 2018 ). Under warm temperature conditions of 25°C, the larvae only need about 2–3 weeks to become an adult ( Gregg et al, 2018 ).…”

“…In Australia, they have become a critical pest species in Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia ( Gregg et al, 2018 ). Under warm temperature conditions of 25°C, the larvae only need about 2–3 weeks to become an adult ( Gregg et al, 2018 ). Adults feed on nectar, living for approximately 10 days, in which females can lay up to 1000 eggs.…”