Intraguild Competition of Three Noctuid Maize Pests

The western bean cutworm Striacosta albicosta (Smith), the fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), and the corn earworm Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) are among the major lepidopteran pests of maize in the United States, belonging to the same guild and injuring the repr...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental entomology 2016-08, Vol.45 (4), p.999-1008
Main Authors: Bentivenha, J. P. F, Baldin, E. L. L, Hunt, T. E, Paula-Moraes, S. V, Blankenship, E. E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
BEHAVIOR
cannibalism
Competitive Behavior
corn earworm
fall armyworm
Feeding Behavior
Food Chain
Genetic Fitness
intraguild predation
Larva - genetics
Larva - growth & development
Larva - physiology
Moths - genetics
Moths - growth & development
Moths - physiology
western bean cutworm
Zea mays - growth & development
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The western bean cutworm Striacosta albicosta (Smith), the fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), and the corn earworm Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) are among the major lepidopteran pests of maize in the United States, belonging to the same guild and injuring the reproductive tissues of this crop. Here, intraguild competition of these lepidopterans on non-Bt maize was evaluated through survival analysis of each species under laboratory and field conditions. Competition scenarios were carried out in arenas containing maize silk or ear tissue, using larvae on different stadium of development. Fitness cost competition studies were conducted to examine the influence of intraguild competition and cannibalism and predation rates on larval development. The survival of S. albicosta competing with the other species was significantly lower than in intraspecific competition, even when the larvae were more developed than the competitor. For S. frugiperda, survival remained high in the different competition scenarios, except when competing in a smaller stadium with H. zea. Larvae of H. zea had a high rate of cannibalism, higher survival when competing against S. albicosta than S. frugiperda, and reduced survival when the H. zea larvae were at the same development stadium or smaller than the competitors. Based on fitness cost results, the absence of a competitor for the feeding source may confer an advantage to the larval development of S. frugiperda and H. zea. Our data suggest that S. frugiperda has a competitive advantage against the other species, while S. albicosta has the disadvantage in the intraguild competition on non-Bt maize.
ISSN:0046-225X
1938-2936
DOI:10.1093/ee/nvw068