Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-31T17:24:51.468Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Distribution of moths of the Egyptian cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis (Boisduval) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), in the Nile Delta interpreted from catches in a pheromone trap network in relation to meteorological factors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

El-Sayed A. Nasr ,
M. R. Tucker  and
D. G. Campion
El-Sayed A. Nasr
Affiliation:
Plant Protection Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt
M. R. Tucker
Affiliation:
Tropical Development and Research Institute, College House, Wright's Lane, London, W8 5SJ, UK
D. G. Campion
Affiliation:
Tropical Development and Research Institute, College House, Wright's Lane, London, W8 5SJ, UK
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Records of daily catches of males of Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) at pheromone traps in or near the Nile Delta, Egypt, during 1979 and 1980 were used to investigate both the seasonal variation in catch and the possibility that migration, associated with particular weather systems, may significantly affect moth numbers in a particular area. Although more moths were caught in 1979 than in 1980, in both years there was a similar seasonal variation in catch, with low numbers in January and February followed by an increase to a maximum in June or August. There was no systematic seasonal change in the area of highest catch that would suggest seasonal migrations. On some nights, large increases in catch were associated with weather disturbances, notably windshift lines, suggesting that flying moths are sometimes redistributed by wind systems. Catches at two traps far from the main source area suggest that moths may have flown at least 50 km downwind from sources in the Nile Delta. The pattern of nightly catches at most traps indicated that build-up of local populations is the most important factor affecting the population dynamics of the pest but that some, mainly local, redistribution by wind systems takes place.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 74 , Issue 3 , September 1984 , pp. 487 - 494
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1984

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bishara, I. (1934). The cotton worm, Prodenia litura F., in Egypt.—Bull. Soc. ent. Égypte 18, 288–413.Google Scholar
Bretherton, R. F. & Chalmers-Hunt, J. M. (1979). The immigration of Lepidoptera the British Isles in 1978.—Entomologist's Rec. J. Var. 91, 81–91.Google Scholar
Brown, E. S., Betts, E. & Rainey, R. C. (1969). Seasonal changes in distribution of the African armyworm, Spodoptera exempta (Wlk.) (Lep., Noctuidae), with special reference to eastern Africa.—Bull. ent. Res. 58, 661–728.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campion, D. G., Bettany, B. W., McGinnigle, J. B. & Taylor, L. R. (1977). The distribution and migration of Spodoptera littoralis (Boisduval) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), in relation to meteorology on Cyprus, interpreted from maps of pheromone trap samples.—Bull. ent. Res. 67, 501–522.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
French, R. A. (1969). Migration of Laphygma exigua Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) to the British Isles in relation to large-scale weather systems.—J. Anim. Ecol. 38, 199–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Madkour, A. & Hosny, M. M. (1973). The effect of certain agricultural practices on the population density of Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) in cotton fields.—Bull. ent. Soc. Egypt, Econ. Ser. no. 7, 241–247.Google Scholar
Nasr, , El-Sayed, A., Hosny, M. M. & Radwan, S. M. (1980). The relative efficiency of three types of sex pheromone trap in catching the male moths of Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.).—Agric. Res. Rev., Cairo 58, 157–164.Google Scholar
Nasr, El-Sayed A. & Nassif, F. M. (1974). Response of various stages of the cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) to temperature and relative humidity (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).—Bull. Soc. ent. Égypte 58, 123–131.Google Scholar
Rivnay, E. (1961). The phenology of Prodenia litura F. in Israel with reference to its occurrence in the Near East at large.—Bull. Res. Coun. Israel (B) 10, 100–106.Google Scholar
Rivnay, E. (1970). Temperature dependence of Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) populations in Israel.—Israel J. Entomol. 5, 103–124.Google Scholar
Tucker, M. R., Mwandoto, S. & Pedgley, D. E. (1982). Further evidence for windhorne movement of armyworm moths, Spodoptera exempta, in East Africa.—Ecol. Entomol. 7, 463–473.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tucker, M. R. & Pedgley, D. E. (1977). Synoptic disturbances over the Nile Valley north of the intertropical convergence zone.—Tellus 29, 17–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yathom, S. (1971). Distribution and flight period of Amphipyrinae (Noctuidae: Lepidoptera) species in Israel in 1959–1970.—Israel J. Entomol. 6, 107–132.Google Scholar