Figs 1-5 - uploaded by Fernando Maia Silva Dias
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Habitus of Feltia subterranea (Fabricius, 1794). 1-3. Last instar larvae: 1. Dorsal. 2. Lateral. 3. Curled. 4-5. Adult: 4. Male (inset: detail of the antennae). 5. Female. Scale bar = 1 cm.
Source publication
Feltia subterranea (Fabricius), commonly known as the granulate cutworm, is a common species of owlet moths (Noctuidae) of major agricultural importance, widely distributed in Nearctic and Neotropical regions. This study was conducted to determine the species biological parameters, gather information about its larval host plants, and assess the agr...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... unmated females and females that mated one or more times (Fig. 14). Although there is no significant relationship between pupal weight and number of matings (χ 2 = 7.300; df= 3; P = 0.063), there is a close relationship between the number of matings and the fecundity (χ 2 = 23.273; df = 3; P < 0.001), i.e., the number of laid eggs by female (Fig. 15). The net reproductive rate (R o ) was 799.983 times per generation, and the mean generation time (T) was 43.777 d. The intrinsic rate of increase (r m ) was 0.153, with a finite increase rate (λ), meaning that the number of females added to the population per female that will generate another female is 1.165. The maximum rates of ...
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... fecundity of mated females is higher than the fecundity of unmated females, as previously observed by Cline and Habeck (1977) (Figs. 13 and 15). While the fecundity of unmated females is unrelated to pupal weights, the fecundity of mated females is significantly related to pupal weights (Fig. 13). Larger pupae produce females with higher fecundity, as observed in S. eridania (Cramer, 1782) ( ) and S. frugiperda ( Montezano et al. 2019b). This observation is directly related to ...
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... is directly related to the greater investment in female size to maximize fecundity ( Tammaru et al. 2002). Although there is no significant relationship between the number of matings and pupal weight in the present study (χ 2 = 7.300; df = 3; P = 0.063), the increase in the number of matings significantly increases the fecundity of F. subterranea (Fig. 15). The significant positive relationship between fecundity and number of matings is observed in other species of owlet moths (e.g., Snow et al. 1970;Ellis and Steele 1982;Chu and Yang 1991;Marti Jr 1994, 1996;Ward and Landolt 1995;Landolt 1997;Hou and Sheng 1999;Sadek and Anderson 2007;Montezano et al. 2013bMontezano et al. , ...
Citations
... The biological parameters were estimated from the larvae of the first generation of one A. ignicans female collected on 29 April 2019, at the Experimental Station of Embrapa Cerrados, in Planaltina, Federal District, Brazil (15 36 0 24,52 00 S, 47 44 0 42.45 00 W, altitude 1169 m), considering 12 526 eggs randomly collected from 20 couples. All rearing of A. ignicans was conducted under the same abiotic (temperature, humidity and photoperiod) and biotic (artificial larval and adult diet) conditions described for Feltia subterranea (Fabricius, 1794) (Specht et al. 2020). The only additional observation was the larval colour pattern of A. ignicans. ...
... Apart from the lack of detailed morphological studies on Austrandesiina, the difficulty of identification of the species is also increased because of the slow-moving behaviour and typical curled posture shared by the larvae of this group and other closely related groups in South America, like F. subterranea (Fabricius, 1794) and A. ipsilon (Specht et al. 2020). Furthermore, A. ignicans, A. infecta (Crumb 1956) and A. mahalpa (Specht et al. 2008) show very similar chromatic polymorphisms, independent of the sex; that is, both males and females can originate from green or brown-coloured larvae, and the variation in the colouration of the larvae was shown even using artificial diets. ...
... Regarding the duration of instars (Table 2), as observed for most representatives of Noctuidae (Montezano et al. 2016(Montezano et al. , 2019bSpecht et al. 2014Specht et al. , 2020, it was found that the first instar (where the larva hatches, uses up its 'yolk' reserves, feeds on the eggshell and then begins feeding on the host plant tissue or artificial diet [Adler & Dial 1989]) is relatively longer than the others, where it is observed a progressive increase in development periods until the last (sixth instar), longest of all, which still presents, at its end, the prepupae period (Table 2). ...
The subgenus Anicla, commonly known as green cutworms, harbours some of the owlet moths (Lepidoptera: Noctuinae), whose larvae are notable for their economic importance. Knowledge of the immature stages for this group is available for three of the nine described species. Anicla infecta Ochsenheimer, 1816 is widely distributed in the Americas and is especially abundant in agricultural ecosystems. However, in the Neotropics, its economic damage can be confused with sympatric species, including Anicla ignicans (Guenée, 1852), whose distributions overlap in most parts of the American continent. In this sense, here, the identity of A. ignicans is investigated through its geographical distribution, based on molecular and morphological data. Additionally, the morphological and behavioural traits of immature stages were described in detail, information about its geographical distribution and larval host plants was gathered, and the species’ biological parameters from larvae reared on an artificial diet were determined. Anicla ignicans is distributed throughout the Neotropical region, preferably in areas with xeric and/or grass-dominated ecosystems. The eggs present valuable characters to distinguish A. ignicans from other owlet moth species, such as the reduced number of ribs, the way the micropyle openings are arranged and the shape of the aeropyles. However, the larvae show very similar chromatic polymorphisms to other Anicla species. Although A. ignicans prefer to feed on grasses, it was observed that more than 85% of the larvae that were fed with a modified bean-based Greene diet survived. Additionally, the percentage of time for each phase of development obtained here is very similar for the different species of Anicla, regardless of the temperature or feeding of the larvae.
... Thus, many species are well known for their agricultural importance in numerous crops all over the world. Damage caused by these larvae are noteworthy by the fact that a single cutworm may cut down and kill several seedlings early in the growing season opening gaps in the stand, causing losses due to yield reduction and replanting of affected areas (Crumb 1929;Mariconi 1954;Chamberlin & Allen 1957;Santos & Nakano 1982;Showers 1997;Lafontaine 2004;Specht et al. 2013Specht et al. , 2020. ...
... Most species occurred in low abundances, especially after the third crop season. All recorded species are widely distributed: Agrotis ipsilon is cosmopolitan (Lafontaine 2004), Feltia repleta and Feltia subterranea are widely distributed all through the Americas (Lafontaine 2004;Specht et al. 2020) and Agrotis canities and Feltia submontana are widely distributed in South America (San Blas 2014; Dias et al. 2019). At least three other species of Agrotis and Feltia occur in Brazil (Silva et al. 1968;San Blas 2014;Dias et al. 2017Dias et al. , 2019San Blas et al. 2019), but they are not known to occur in the Cerrado. ...
... The third most abundant species, F. subterranea (granulated cutworm), is regarded as an important pest in crops across the Americas (Jones 1918;Crumb 1929Crumb , 1956Silva et al. 1968;Snow & Callahan 1968;Lee & Bass 1969;Morgan & French 1971;Oliver & Chapin 1981;Hamm & Lynch 1982;Vendramim et al. 1982;Lafontaine 2004;Specht et al. 2020). It is possible that this species can cause occasional damage to crops in the Cerrado, as F. subterranea temporal distribution is very similar to A. ipsilon although in lower abundances. ...
Population dynamics studies make it possible to predict the response of species to seasonal and inter‐annual climatic phenomena in hypothetical scenarios of climatic abnormality. However, long‐term studies on the temporal distribution and abundances of species are still scarce in the literature, including for species of agricultural importance. The present study aimed to bridge this gap through monthly collection events of species of cutworms (species of Agrotis and Feltia) across eight crop seasons (from July 2012 to June 2020) in the Brazilian Savanna (Cerrado). This biome is characterised by an irregular distribution of rainfall during a normal year, including two well‐defined periods of dry and rainy seasons. Only five species of cutworms were recorded: Agrotis ipsilon, Agrotis canities, Feltia repleta, Feltia submontana and Feltia subterranea, all widely distributed across South America. Except for F. submontana, occurring only in the autumn, other species occurred nearly year‐round, with distinct peaks of abundance in the dry season (April to October), supporting the hypothesis that species of Agrotina are well adapted to dry environments. The association of cutworms with dry environments was recovered for multivoltine, abundant species, such as A. ipsilon and F. subterranea, as for univoltine species, such as F. submontana. Across eight crop seasons, the abundance of all species decreased, coinciding with a high intensity El Niño effect. However, the effect itself was not found to be significant to predict the temporal distribution and abundances of cutworms and the causes of population decrease from 2014 to 2015 crop season remain to be explained. After the temporal autocorrelation effects were removed, it was revealed that the abundance of cutworms tends to be larger in crop seasons with less precipitation. Thus, This variable can be used to predict outbreaks of cutworms in the Cerrado. Some species of cutworms deserve special concern due to their frequency, seasonality and higher abundances in the Cerrado during the dry season. Their adaptability to adverse conditions may increase their spatio‐temporal distribution in Brazil and the frequency of outbreaks in a scenario of climate change, with the continuing reduction of rainfall in central and southeastern Brazil.
... Therefore, the biotic potential of P. temperata is basically affected by the daily intrinsic rate of increase (r m ) and finite rate of increase (λ). Although our experiments were conducted at a lower temperature, the biotic potential of P. temperata (over 50 trillion offspring per female per year) is considerably lower than most other owlet moths of economic importance in Brazil, which can reach up to several sextillions (Montezano et al. 2013b(Montezano et al. , 2014a(Montezano et al. , 2019bSilva et al. 2018aSilva et al. , 2018bSpecht et al. , 2020. This parameter explains why this species is not reported as a pest species in the Neotropics. ...
Information on the cutworm Praina temperata (Schaus, 1894) is restricted to data obtained from adults and two larval host plants. Based on a data set of systematized collections in different locations in Brazil and laboratory rearing using different host plants and artificial diet, new data are presented on the spatio-temporal distribution, morphological and behavioral traits of immatures, main preferred host-plant species, biological parameters of larvae reared on artificial diet, and forewing polyphenism. Praina temperata occurs from Mexico to extreme southern Brazil, preferably in areas with a mild climate throughout the year. Their larvae have a clear preference for monocot host-plant species; specimens reared on dicot species had significantly higher mortality rates and longer life cycles. The behavior and development of immatures resemble other cutworms, although with fewer strategies to avoid natural enemies and relatively slow development. These attributes indicate that despite its association with cultivated graminaceous plants, it will likely not become a pest. The laboratory and field data revealed a polyphenism relating to the presence/absence of the square black patch between the reniform and orbicular spots on the forewing.
