Parasitoids and Pathogens of Green Cloverworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on an Uncultivated Spring Host (Vetch, Vicia spp.) and a Cultivated Summer Host (Soybean, Glycine max)

Abstract

Parasitoids and pathogens of green cloverworm, Plathypena scabra (F.), were studied during the spring on a wild host (vetch, Vicia spp.) and during the summer on a cultivated host (soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merrill) at four locations in Louisiana during 1984 and 1985. Six species of primary parasitoids and one species of hyperparasitoid representing a total of four families were encountered during the study. Cotesia marginiventris (Cresson) was the most abundant parasitoid collected during the spring of 1984, while Rogas nolophanae Ashmead was the most common in the spring of 1985. Parasitism during the spring of 1984 and 1985 totaled 12.8 and 36.4%, respectively, whereas parasitism rates during the summer of those years were 10.4 and 6.0%, respectively. Cotesia marginiventris was the prevalant parasitoid during the summer in both years of the study. Two entomopathogens were collected from green cloverworm— Nomuraea rileyi Samson and a granulosis virus were collected in the spring, while only N. rileyi was collected during the summer.