title: Immature stages of Spodoptera eridania (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae): developmental parameters and host plants.
abstract: This study aimed to detail the temporal and morphological parameters of the immature stages of southern armyworm Spodoptera eridania (Stoll, 1782) with larvae feed on artificial diet, under controlled conditions (25 ± 1°C, 70 ± 10% relative humidity and 14-h photophase) and gather information about their larval host plants. The viability of the egg, larval, pupal, and prepupal stages was 97.82, 93.62, 96.42, and 97.03%, respectively. The average duration of the egg, larval, pupal, and pre-pupal stages was 4.00, 16.18, 1.58, and 9.17 d, respectively. During the larval stage, 43.44% of females passed through seven instars, observing that the female's development was significant slower than males. The female larvae that developed through six and seven instars exhibited a mean growth rate of 1.52 and 1.44, respectively. Female pupae were significantly larger, exhibiting faster development than males. The rearing method proved to be adequate, providing more detailed observations of the biological cycle, especially at the larval stage, and resulting in an overall survival of almost 85%. Two hundred two plant species belonging to 58 families are listed as natural hosts for S. eridania, mainly including Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Solanaceae, Poaceae, Amaranthaceae, and Malvaceae.
authors.affiliation: Universidade de Caxias do Sul, Instituto de Biotecnologia, Postal Box 1352, ZIP code 95070-560, Caxias do Sul, RS, Brazil deiagm@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Débora Goulart
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Montezano
authors.affiliation: Embrapa Cerrados, Laboratório de Entomologia, Postal Box 08223, ZIP code 73310-970, Planaltina, DF, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Specht
authors.affiliation: Embrapa Soja, Laboratório de Entomologia, Postal Box 231, ZIP code 86001-970, Londrina, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Daniel Ricardo
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Sosa-Gómez
authors.affiliation: Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade UnB Planaltina, Área Universitária n.1, Vila Nossa Senhora de Fatima, 73345-010, Planaltina, DF, Brazil.
authors.forename: Vânia Ferreira
authors.initials: VF
authors.lastname: Roque-Specht
authors.affiliation: Universidade de Caxias do Sul, Instituto de Biotecnologia, Postal Box 1352, ZIP code 95070-560, Caxias do Sul, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Neiva Monteiro
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: de Barros
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development; D008018:Life Cycle Stages / Q000502:physiology*; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000469:parasitology*; D008297:Male; D011679:Pupa / Q000254:growth & development; D012737:Sex Factors; D018411:Spodoptera / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology
keywords: caterpillar; developmental parameter; egg; pupae; southern armyworm