Spodoptera androgea

Stoll, 1782

androgea armyworm moth

Spodoptera androgea is a noctuid found in North America and parts of South America. It belongs to the Spodoptera, commonly known as armyworms, which contains several economically significant agricultural pests. The species is one of many Spodoptera that can occur on soybean and other crops, though it is generally considered less economically important than such as S. frugiperda () or S. eridania (southern ). The MONA or Hodges number for this species is 9671.1.

Spodoptera androgea by James Sullivan, Research Collection of J. B. Sullivan. Used under a Copyrighted free use license.Mythimna unipuncta P1320911a by xpda. Used under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license.CramerAndStoll-uitlandsche kapellen vol. 4- pl 310 by Pieter Cramer (1721 - 1776) and Caspar Stoll (between 1725 and 1730 - 1791). Used under a Public domain license.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Spodoptera androgea: /spɔˈdɔptɛra ænˈdroʊdʒiə/

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Identification

Larvae of Spodoptera androgea are likely to resemble other Spodoptera , making field identification difficult without examination of subtle morphological characters. As with other armyworms, identification relies on features such as the arrangement and shape of pinaculae (sclerotized ) on the dorsum, capsule markings, and the pattern of abdominal segment spots. Conclusive identification typically requires examination of late-instar larvae; younger larvae often cannot be reliably distinguished from .

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Distribution

North America (conterminous United States); South America (Brazil: Amazonas, Pará, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rondônia, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina states).

Human Relevance

Member of a containing major agricultural pests. While S. androgea itself is not among the most economically damaging Spodoptera , it occurs in soybean-growing regions where proper identification of larvae is essential for pest management decisions.

Similar Taxa

  • Spodoptera frugiperda is the most widely distributed Spodoptera in North and South America and is a major pest of corn, cotton, and occasionally soybean. Distinguished by four pinaculae per abdominal segment with those on the eighth segment forming a square, and an inverted white Y-shaped mark on the .
  • Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern is an increasingly important soybean pest in South America. Distinguished by black markings on the first and eighth abdominal segments and a subspiracular light-colored line that is interrupted by the first abdominal segment spot.
  • Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-striped armyworm occurs in the southeastern United States. Distinguished by paired black triangular spots along the back with adjacent yellow stripes that are not interrupted by the spots, often giving a black velvety appearance with bright yellow stripes.

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