The lesser cotton leafworm, Anomis impasta (Guenée) (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae), in cotton

Abstract

Regardless of the cropping systems, local conditions, and the cultivated variety, cotton plants can be infested by several insect and mite species. Among the defoliator insects, the American cotton leafworm, Alabama argillacea (Hübner) (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae), is of common occurrence across all cotton growing areas in Brazil. Recently, Anomis impasta (Guenée) (= Anomis doctorium), has been collected in experimental cotton fields localized in Remigio (PB), Paudalho and Surubim (PE), and in grower areas placed at Frei Miguelinho (PE). This noctuid species is remarkably similar to A. argillacea concerning the egg morphology, early larval instars, pupal stage and feeding behavior. The only published record of the occurrence of A. impasta in Brazil was made by Guenée using specimens from Bonito, Pernambuco (Dyar 1913). Given the resemblance, both morphological and behavioral, with a common and well known cotton pest, A. argillacea, the occurrence of A. impasta in our cotton fields, at least in the Semiarid region, might have been masked. In fact, Lima (1949) already mentioned the similarity of Anomis texana (Riley) with A. argillacea, and that the former species was an important pest of cotton in Peru. Cotton has moved considerably across Brazil over the past two decades. Large areas of cotton were located in the Arid and Semiarid regions of the Northeast until 1980's. During