A high density field population of mixed phases (solitaria and gregaria) of armyworm (Spodoptera exempta) caterpillars in Kenya.
An unusual type of mass propagation ("outbreak") of armyworms (Spodoptera exempta) was found during the rainy season in the highlands of central Kenya. In a very small area it had a high density of individuals but - unlike normal outbreaks - it comprised a continuity of different developmental stages from young caterpillars to moths. The older caterpillars were of phase solitaria or gregaria together with numerous individuals of intermediate forms. From their different ages it is improbable that they all came from parental moths having arrived together. The finding of such type of outbreak seems of interest for understanding the development of the huge uniform outbreaks of this species frequently occurring in East Africa.
D000818:Animals; D004463:Ecology; D007630:Kenya; D007814:Larva; D007915:Lepidoptera / Q000254:growth & development*; D008675:Metamorphosis, Biological; D009036:Moths / Q000254:growth & development*