Biology of fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) on sorghum

Abstract

Studies on biology of S. frugiperda on sorghum revealed that the incubation, total larval, pre-pupal, pupal, pre-oviposition, oviposition and post oviposition period, male and female longevity were 2–3, 13–20, 1–2, 9–13, 3–4, 2–3, 4–5, 7–10 and 10–12 days, respectively. The total life cycle of male and female took 37–46 and 40–49 days to complete, respectively. The mean fecundity of female was 996 eggs. The sex ratio was observed to be 1.30:1. The morphometric data revealed that the mean larval length from first instar to sixth instar was 1.74, 3.45, 6.20, 9.64, 16.61 and 32.84 mm, respectively. The pupal length was 15.59 mm. The mean body length and wing span of male were 15.60, and 30.57 mm, but in the female adults were 15.12 and 31.10 mm, respectively.