Biotic potential, fertility and life table ofSpodoptera albula (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), under controlled conditions

Débora G Montezano,Neiva M Barros,Daniel R Sosa-Gómez,Alexandre Specht,Tarciso M Bortolin,Vânia F Roque-Specht,Edegar Fronza,Patrícia Pezzi,Priscila C Luz

doi:10.1590/0001-3765201402812

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the biotic potential, life table parameters and fertility of Spodoptera albula (Walker, 1857) under controlled conditions (25 ± 1°C, 70 ± 10% RH and 14 hour photo phase). The longevity, pre, post and oviposition periods, fecundity and fertility of 13 couples were evaluated. The longevity of females (13.500 days) was significantly higher than those of males (11.154 days). The mean durations of the pre, post and oviposition periods were 2.615, 1.769 and 9.385 days, respectively. The mean fecundity was 1.417.69 eggs and mean fertility was 1.340.401 larvae, per female. On average, females copulated 1, 231 times. A strong positive correlation was observed between the number of copulations and fecundity (r = 0.847, p <0.001), as well as a strong negative correlation between the number of copulations and the duration of the pre-oviposition period (r = -0.762, p = 0.002), and longevity (r = -0.788, p = 0.001). The biotic potential of S. albula was estimated at 8.768 x 1022 individuals / female / year. The net reproductive rate (Ro) was 353,904 times per generation and the mean generation time (T) was 37.187 days. The intrinsic rate of increase (rm) was 1,105, with a finite rate of increase (λ) of 3,019.

Highlights

The genus Spodoptera Guenée, 1852 is cosmopo litan and includes many of the most important agricultural armyworm caterpillars (Pogue 2002)
S. albula has been erroneously referred to as "Spodoptera sunia (Guenée, 1852)", which is currently recognized as Neogalea sunia (Guenée, 1852), representative of the subfamily Cuculliinae (Poole 1989)
The longevity of S. albula (Table I) was similar to that described by La Rosa et al (1992) who reported 12.4 days at 25°C and 13.2 days at room temperature

Summary

Introduction

The genus Spodoptera Guenée, 1852 is cosmopo litan and includes many of the most important agricultural armyworm caterpillars (Pogue 2002). The larvae move into crops from the invading plants found between the rows and / or along the edges (González-B 1966, Hallman 1979, Savoie 1988). Especially in Central America, S. albula makes it unfeasible to develop important crops such as tobacco (Stoyan and Machado 1970, Novo Padrino et al 1984, 1985, Páez Gázquez and Novo Padrino 1987), cotton (Alcaraz Vieco 1962, González-B 1966), tomato (Gloria-B 1975), cabbage (Armstrong 1994), sesame, soybean (Hallman 1979, 1983), peanuts (Teixeira et al 2001), sunflower (Pruett and Guamán 2001), papaya (Semillas del Caribe 2010) and even seedling production in forestry nurseries (Vázquez et al 1999)

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Methods

Results