Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T21:01:06.269Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The reproductive maturity and mating status of Helicoverpa armigera, H. punctigera and Mythimna convecta (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) collected in tower-mounted light traps in northern New South Wales, Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

M. Coombs ,
A. P. Del Socorro ,
G. P. Fitt  and
P. C. Gregg
M. Coombs
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of New England, NSW, Australia
A. P. Del Socorro
Affiliation:
Department of Agronomy and Soil Science, University of New England, NSW, Australia
G. P. Fitt
Affiliation:
CSIRO Division of Entomology, Narrabri, NSW, Australia
P. C. Gregg*
Affiliation:
Department of Agronomy and Soil Science, University of New England, NSW, Australia
*
Dr P.C. Gregg, Department of Agronomy and Soil Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia, 2351.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The reproductive condition and mating status of female Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner), H. punctigera (Wallengren) and the mating status of the armywormMythimna convecta (Walker), trapped in tower-mounted light traps were studied over a four and a half year period, from November 1985 to December 1989. The traps were mounted on towers (40 and 50 m high) in two geographically distinct sites, one located at Point Lookout and the other at Mt Dowe both in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. At the Point Lookout site, 132 females of H. armigera and 366 of H. punctigera were examined and of those, 88.7% and 89.9% were unmated and immature, respectively. Most of the remaining females of both species were mature and mated. Of the matedH. armigerafemales, 78.6% carried only a single spermatophore, the remainder having either two or three spermatophores. Most of the matedH. punctigerafemales (97.1%) carried only a single spermatophore and the remainder had no more than two. Females ofM. convectawere predominantly (97.1%) unmated. At the Mt Dowe siteH. punctigeraadults were predominant and all 44 females of this species examined were unmated and non-gravid. Pre-reproductive flight byHelicoverpaspp. andM. convectais considered as an important component of the life-history strategies of these insects. Flexibility in the timing and spacing of reproductive effort is seen as enabling colonization of heterogeneous environments.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 83 , Issue 4 , December 1993 , pp. 529 - 534
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

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

Armes, N.J. &Cooter, R.J. (1991) Effects of age and mated status on flight potential of Helicoverpa armigera(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Physiological Entomology 16, 131–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Common, I.F.B. (1953) The Australian species of Heliothis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and their pest status. Australian Journal of Zoology 1, 319–344.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Common, I.F.B. (1954) The Australian armyworms of the genus Persectania (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Australian Journal of Zoology 2, 86–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Common, I.F.B. (1965) The identity and distribution of species of Pseudaletia (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Australia. Journal of the Entomological Society of Queensland 4, 14–17.Google Scholar
Dingle, H. (1989) The evolution and significance of migratory flight. pp. 99–114in Goldsworthy, G.J. & Wheeler, C.H. (Eds) Insect flight. Florida, CRC Press.Google Scholar
Drake, V.A. & Farrow, R.A. (1985) A radar and aerial trapping study of an early spring migration of moths (Lepidoptera) in inland New South Wales. Australian Journal of Ecology 10, 223–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Drake, V.A.Farrow, R.A. (1988) The influence of atmospheric structure and motions on insect migration. Annual Review of Entomology 33, 183–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Engelmann, F. (1970) The physiology of insect reproduction. 307 pp. Oxford, Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Farrow, R.A. & Daly, J.C. (1987) Long-range movements as an adaptive strategy in the genus Heliothis(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae): a review of its occurrence and detection in four pest species. Australian Journal of Zoology 35, 1–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farrow, R.A. & McDonald, G. (1987) Migration strategies and outbreaks of noctuid pests in Australia. Insect Science and its Application 8, 531–542.Google Scholar
Fitt, G.P. (1989) The ecology of Heliothis species in relation to agroecosystems. Annual Review of Entomology, 34, 17–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gatehouse, A.G. (1989) Genes, environment, and insect flight. pp. 115–138 in Goldsworthy, G.J. & Wheeler, C.H. (Eds) Insect flight. Florida, CRC Press.Google Scholar
Gregg, P.C., Fitt, G.P., Coombs, M. & Henderson, G.S. (in press) Migrating moths collected in tower mounted light traps in northern New South Wales: species composition and seasonal abundance. Bulletin of Entomological Research.Google Scholar
Johnson, C.G. (1969) Migration and dispersal of insects by flight. 763 pp. London, Methuen.Google Scholar
Kou, R. & Chow, Y. (1987) Calling behaviour of the cotton bollworm, Heliothis armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America 80, 490–493.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mikkola, K. (1986) Direction of insect migrations in relation to the wind. pp. 152–171in Danthanarayana, W. (Ed.) Insect flight: Dispersal and migration. Berlin, Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Page, W.W. (1988) Varying durations of arrested oocyte development in relation to migration in the African armyworm, Spodoptera exempta (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Bulletin of Entomological Research 79, 181–198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raulston, J.R., Snow, J.W., Graham, H.M. & Lingren, P.D. (1975) Tobacco budworm: effect of prior mating and sperm content on the mating behaviour of females. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 68, 701–704.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raulston, J.R., Wolf, W.W., Lingren, P.D. & Sparks, A.N. (1982) Migration as a factor in Heliothis management. pp. 61–73in Proceedings of the International Workshop on Heliothis Management. ICRISAT, Patancheru, India.Google Scholar
Riley, J.R., Armes, N.J., Reynolds, D.R. & Smith, A.D. (1992) Nocturnal observations on the emergence and flight behaviour of H. armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in the post-rainy season in central India. Bulletin of Entomological Research 82, 243–256.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swier, S.R., Rings, R.W. & Musick, G.J. (1976) Reproductive behaviour of the black cutworm, Agrotis ipsilon. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 69, 546–560.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Handel, E. (1974) Lipid utilization during sustained flight of moths. Journal of Insect Physiology 20, 2329–2332.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Willers, J.L., Schneider, J.C. & Ramaswamy, S.B. (1987) Fecundity, longevity and caloric patterns in female Heliothis virescens: changes with age due to supplemental carbohydrate. Journal of Insect Physiology 33, 803–808.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zalucki, M.P., Daglish, G., Firempong, S. & Twine, P. (1986) The biology and ecology of Heliothis armigera (Hübner) and H. punctigera Wallengren (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Australia: What do we know? Australian Journal of Zoology 34, 779–814.CrossRefGoogle Scholar