Consumption and use of soybean by the caterpillar Helicoverpa armigera

ABSTRACT: A deep insight into the population dynamics of a pest can be achieved by being acquainted with its nutritional ecology, which further assists in understanding the damage potential and decisions to control mainly in diversified production systems such as those in Brazil. The present r research aimed to evaluate the effect of dietary regimens, comprising combinations of acessible organs of soybean plants, at different stages of development, consumption, and utilization of food by the 4th, 5th, and 6thlarvae instar of Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lep.: Noctuidae). For this purpose, the vegetative and reproductive organs of soybean were brought together in three feeding regimes, followed by making it available to caterpillars. After evaluations, it was found that under laboratory conditions, the development of H. armigera 4th to 6th instar caterpillars was better when they werepurely fed on leaves than on combinations of vegetative and reproductive parts, such as fresh leaves + old leaves + pods at the beginning of grain development, and old leaves + pods at the beginning of grain development +pods with well-developed grain.

摘要：深入解析害虫的营养生态学，可揭示其种群动态规律，进而助力明确其潜在危害并制定防控策略，这在巴西等多元化农业生产系统中尤为关键。本研究旨在探究由大豆植株不同发育阶段可及器官组合构成的日粮模式，对棉铃虫（Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner)，鳞翅目：夜蛾科）4、5、6龄幼虫的取食行为与食物利用效率的影响。为此，本研究将大豆的营养器官与生殖器官组合为三种饲喂模式，供试幼虫取食。经实验室评估发现，相较于取食营养与生殖器官的组合模式（如鲜叶+老叶+籽粒发育初期豆荚、老叶+籽粒发育初期豆荚+籽粒饱满豆荚），单纯取食叶片的棉铃虫4至6龄幼虫的生长发育表现更佳。