First report of Spodoptera eridania (Stoll) in the center of the Santa Fe province.

Abstract

This work reports for the first time the presence of Spodoptera eridania (Stoll) in the central area of the Santa Fe province. Spodoptera larvae were collected from Bt soybean fields and were transferred to growth chambers (FCA-UNL), where the first generation was obtained. By larvae morphological analysis was confirmed that the species collected was S. eridania, pest of tropical origin and present in Argentina northwest. Is a polyphagous defoliator that feeds on several species of economic importance, with a high tolerance to the Cry1Ac protein, which is expressed in some Bt crops and is resistant to conventional insecticides. When the larvae were fed with Bt soybeans, they successfully completed their biological cycle. There is not information about the behavior of this species in the central area of the Santa Fe province.