Invasive fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera:Noctuidae): distinguishing characteristics
2019
Barrion-Dupo, A.L.A.
The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith), is a pest known to subsist and inflict damage to economically important grasses like corn and rice. The lepidopteran has been recorded to have moved from its South American origin to Africa in 2016. From Africa, FAW has made its way to Asia; larvae attacking inside the whorls and destroying developing corn tassel. Hence, it is important to farmers to properly identify this pest before initiating pest control measures. At present, there are five species of Spodoptera that are known to occur in the Philippines: 1) beet or onion armyworm, S. exigua (Hubner); 2) African armyworm, S. exempta (Walker); 3) common cutworm, S. litura (Fabricius); 4) lily caterpillar, S. picta (Guerin-Meneville); and 5) lawn armyworm, S. Mauritia (Boisduval). FAW larvae can upside-down Y pattern in the frontal aspect of the larval head. In addition, four large dots arranged as a square mark the dorsal side of the last larval body segment. Meanwhile, the dots on the other larval body segments are arranged in a trapezoid.
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