Spodoptera mauritia

Lawn armyworm

Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Noctuidae
Genus:	Spodoptera
Species:	S. mauritia
Binomial name
*Spodoptera mauritia* (Boisduval, 1833)
Synonyms
Hadena mauritia Boisduval, 1833 Agrotis aliena Walker, 1865 Laphygma gratiosa Walker, 1865 Orthosia margarita Hawthorne, 1897 Agrotis yernauxi Hulstaert, 1924 Spodoptera acronyctoides Guenée, 1852 Spodoptera acronyctiformis Guenée, 1852 Spodoptera filum Guenée, 1852 Spodoptera nubes Guenée, 1852 Euxoa ogasawarensis Matsumura, 1926 Prodenia infecta Walker, 1856 Prodenia insignata Walker, 1856 Prodenia permunda Walker, 1857 Agrotis transducta Walker, [1857] Agrotis bisignata Walker, 1865 (preocc. Celaena bisignata Walker, 1865) Laphygma squalida Walker, 1865 Agrotis submarginalis Walker, 1865 Hadena obliqua Walker, 1865 Prodenia venustula Walker, 1865 Hermonassa formosana Matsumura, 1913

Spodoptera mauritia, the lawn armyworm, also known as paddy swarming caterpillar, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. Cosmopolitan species, it is a major polyphagous pest throughout the world.^[1]

Distribution

It is widespread from the Red Sea to India, Burma, Sri Lanka, Malaya to Australia and widespread in the Pacific Islands, including the Solomons, New Hebrides, Fiji, Samoa, Hawaii, the Society Islands, Austral Islands, Marquesas and Marshall Islands.^[2]

Description

The wingspan is about 40 mm. Dark grey-brown with a rusty tinge on body. Abdomen fuscous. Fore wings with sub-basal, antemedial, and postmedial double waved lines indistinct. The orbicular small and ochreous, whereas reniform blackish. Submarginal line whitish and irregularly waved. There is a white patch often can be seen between orbicular and reniform and a dark patch on the central marginal area. Hind wings opalescent and semi-hyaline white, with a dark marginal line.^[3]^[4]

Ecology

The larvae feed on various grasses, including rice,^[5] wheat, Cynodon, Pennisetum clandestinum, Sorghum bicolor, Oryza sativa, and Casuarina equisetifolia. They are considered one of the major international agricultural pests on crops and pastures.^[6] Unlike other insects, armyworm caterpillars of sixth instar do not excrete uric acid, instead they excrete urea as nitrogenous wastes.^[7]

Damage and Control

Plants attacked by caterpillars have skeletonized leaves, shot holes, and dieback stems. Commonly the entire paddy crop dies within few days due to swarming attack. Hand picking and other mechanical methods are used to reduce infection. Adults can eliminated by introducing Bolas spiders to the fields. This spider has the ability to spray a pheromone similar to female moth, to attract male moths. The nematode Steinernema carpocapsae and usage of viruses like Nucleopolyhedrovirus are also effective.^[8] Moths traps like wing traps and unitraps can also used to collect adults.^[9]

Legacy

In 1969, small outbreaks of less than 200 acres have been reported in Sabah region of Malaysia, but in 6,000 square miles of outbreak was recorded from Sarawak. These attacks vanished 20% of total rice production in Mayalsia.
In 1981, paddy nurseries near marshy areas were severely affected by armyworm in Indonesia. This induce transplanting programs throughout the country and re-sowing of seedlings into the field highly susceptible to the attack.
In 1983, nursery beds were devastated by the caterpillars, reduced the total rice production.
In Sri Lanka, the heavy outbreaks were recorded twice from the country, first in 1904 and then in 1920, where Jaffna paddy cultivations were destroyed by the caterpillars.^[10]
An outbreak in 2016 has reportedly damaged more than 17,418 hectares of cropland across 10 districts in Assam, India

Subspecies

S. m. mauritia (Indian Ocean)
S. m. acronyctoides Guenée, 1852 (Oriental tropics, Australia, Pacific tropics, Japan)

References

↑ "Spodoptera mauritia, (Boisduval, 1833)". African moths. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
↑ "Spodoptera mauritia (paddy swarming caterpillar)". CABI. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
↑ Hampson G. F. (1892). "The Fauna Of British India Including Ceylon And Burma Moths Vol-ii". Digital Library of India. p. 558. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
↑ "Spodoptera mauritia Boisduval". The Moths of Borneo. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
↑ Saritha Pujari (2015-10-28). "Rice Swarming Caterpillar (Spodoptera Mauritia): Life Cycle, Nature and Control". Yourarticlelibrary.com. Retrieved 2015-11-29.
↑ "LAWN ARMYWORM FACTS". Australian Wildlife. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
↑ "The excretion of urea by the larvae of Spodoptera mauritia Boisd. (Noctuidae: Lepidoptera) during development.". NCBI. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
↑ "Spodoptera mauritia (Boisduval, 1833)". Butterfly House. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
↑ "Spodoptera mauritia". ChemTica. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
↑ "armyworm (Spodoptera mauritia acronyctoides)". Plantwise.org. Retrieved 2015-11-29.

External links

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