The beet armyworm Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is difficult to control using chemical insecticides because of the development of insecticide resistance. Several pest control agents are used to control the beet armyworm. Entomopathogenic fungi are one of the candidates for eco-friendly pest control instead of chemical control agents. In this study, among various entomopathogenic fu...

Fitness cost of resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis in velvetbean caterpillar Anticarsia gemmatalis Hübner (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae). Selection pressure to obtain resistant genotypes can result in fitness cost. In this study, we report the effects of the selection pressure of a commercial formulation of Bacillus thuringiensis on biological aspects of a Dipel-resistant strain of velvetbean cater...

The multicapsid nucleopolyhedroviruses (NPVs) of Spodoptera exigua (SeMNPV), Spodoptera frugiperda (SfMNPV), and Spodoptera littoralis (SpliNPV) are genetically similar (78 % similarity) but differ in their degree of host specificity. Infection by each of the three NPVs in these three Spodoptera host species was determined by oral inoculation of larvae with occlusion bodies (OBs) or intrahaemoc...

The Rag1 gene confers antibiotic resistance to soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura (Hemiptera: Aphididae), and in 2010, varieties expressing Rag1 were released for commercial use in the United States. We do not know how Rag1 varieties will influence the broader community of defoliating insects that inhabit soybean fields. In 2010 and 2011, the preference and performance of pest insects that...