A new genus, Vairimorpha (Protozoa: Microsporida), for Nosema necatrix Kramer 1965: Pathogenicity and life cycle in Spodoptera exempta (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Abstract

Spodoptera exempta larvae were reared on semisynthetic maize diet. Pathogenicity studies were undertaken on first- to fifth-instar larvae fed a high dosage of Nosema necatrix spores. Larvae from the earlier instars were most susceptible to the microsporidan and also developed bacteriosis. A cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus (CPV) was evident in some infected larvae but not in controls. The development of N. necatrix is redescribed using the light microscope. A disporoblastic life cycle was evident at 25°C and both a disporoblastic and an octosporoblastic life cycle at 20°C. The implications of the occurrence of bacteriosis and CPV and the possible biological significance of the two sporogonic sequences are discussed. The taxonomic position of N.necatrix is reviewed and, after comparison with existing species of the genera Nosema and Parathelohania, it is placed in the new genus Vairimorpha. The implications of polymorphism are discussed in relation to the classification of the Microsporida.