Feeding Site Preferences of Seven Lepidopteran Pests of Celery

Abstract

The feeding site preferences of seven species of lepidopteran pests of celery were investigated under greenhouse conditions. The cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni (Hubner), fed on leaves and was not observed to damage the petiole. The beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Hubner), the corn earworm, Heliothis zea (Boddie), the false celery leaf tier, Udea profundalis (Packard), the variegated cutworm, Peridroma saucia (Hubner), and Platynota stultana (Walsingham) fed on both leaves and petioles but tended to occur more often on the petioles as they matured. In contrast, the salt marsh caterpillar, Estigmene acrea (Drury), tended to occur more often on leaves during later instars. Based on these data, the cabbage looper would not be predicted to be a serious economic pest except at very high populations. The six remaining species may possess a much higher potential to cause economic damage, especially during the last portion of the growing season.