Classification

Noctuoidea: Noctuidae: Noctuinae: Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith)

Common name

fall armyworm, cogollero, whorlworm, corn leafworm, southern grassworm

Synonyms

Laphygma frugiperda

Larval diagnosis (Detailed)

The larvalarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
of the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, was at least partially described by Luginbill (1928)Luginbill (1928):
Luginbill, P. 1928. The Fall Armyworm. U. S. Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletin 34. 91 pp., Crumb (1956)Crumb (1956):
Crumb, S. E. 1956. The Larvae of the Phalaenidae. U. S. Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletin 1135. 356 pp., Etcheverry (1957)Etcheverry (1957):
Etcheverry, M. 1957. Laphygma frugiperda (Abbot y Smith) en Chile (Lepidoptera Noctuidae). Revista Chilena de Entomologia 5: 183-192., Okumura (1961)Okumura (1961):
Okumura, G. T. 1961. Identification of lepidopterous larvae attacking cotton. California Department of Agriculture Bureau of Entomology Special Publication 282. 80 pp., Peterson (1962)Peterson (1962):
Peterson, A. 1962. Larvae of insects: an introduction to Nearctic species. Part I: Lepidoptera and plant infesting Hymenoptera. Columbus, Ohio. 315 pp., Dekle (1976)Dekle (1976):
Dekle, G. W. 1976. Illustrated key to the caterpillars on corn (with photographs of the adults). Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Bulletin 4. 16 pp., Pastrana and Henandez (1979), Passoa (1991)Passoa (1991):
Passoa, S. 1991. Color identification of economically important Spodoptera larvae in Honduras. Insecta Mundi 5(3-4): 185-196., and Pogue (2002)Pogue (2002):
Pogue, M. G. 2002. A world revision of the genus Spodoptera Guenee (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 43. 202 pages.. The larvalarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
has been photographed many times; some examples are Passoa (1991)Passoa (1991):
Passoa, S. 1991. Color identification of economically important Spodoptera larvae in Honduras. Insecta Mundi 5(3-4): 185-196., Pogue (2002)Pogue (2002):
Pogue, M. G. 2002. A world revision of the genus Spodoptera Guenee (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 43. 202 pages., and Wagner et al. (2011)Wagner et al. (2011):
Wagner, D. L., D. F. Schweitzer, J. B. Sullivan and R. C. Reardon. 2011. Owlet caterpillars of eastern North America. Princeton University Press, New Jersey. 576 pp..

Typical interceptions of S. frugiperda are immediately recognized by their characteristic appearance. The ground color is normally some shade of brown or gray, more rarely the larvalarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
is light green or almost black. The dorsal pinaculapinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
of A1-8 are large, greater than the diameter of the corresponding spiracle (Levy and Habeck 1976Levy and Habeck 1976:
Levy, R. and D. H. Habeck. 1976. Descriptions of the larvae of Spodoptera sunia and S. latifascia with a key to the mature Spodoptera larvae of the eastern United States. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 69: 585-588.), and especially conspicuous on last few abdominal segments where they form a square on A8 (Dekle 1976Dekle 1976:
Dekle, G. W. 1976. Illustrated key to the caterpillars on corn (with photographs of the adults). Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Bulletin 4. 16 pp.). Some individuals do not have the laterallateral:
to the side, or at the side of
spot on A1 typical of most other Spodoptera. However, there is a minute sclerotizedsclerotized:
hardened and tanned, so that it is yellow to black in color
bar connecting the SD1 setal base to an adjacent ventral muscle attachment (tonofibrillary platelettonofibrillary platelet:
a small, external, flattened, sclerotized area of the integument associated with muscle attachment
) on the meso- and metathoraxmetathorax:
the third thoracic segment
(Weisman 1974Weisman 1974:
Weisman, D. M. 1974. Some lepidopterous larvae of plant quarantine significance. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine unpublished training aid. 22 pp., 1986; Passoa 1991Passoa 1991:
Passoa, S. 1991. Color identification of economically important Spodoptera larvae in Honduras. Insecta Mundi 5(3-4): 185-196.) which is typical of the genus (and many other noctuids; see S. exigua). Spodoptera frugiperda has SD1 is hairlike on the mesothoraxmesothorax:
the second thoracic segment
, metathoraxmetathorax:
the third thoracic segment
, and A9. The blade on the hypophargngeal complex is a long ridge in our example, much like the example in Passoa (1991: fig. 7) but shorter. We show a rare form of S. frugiperda with dashes on the dorsum, normally these are absent (see Passoa 1991Passoa 1991:
Passoa, S. 1991. Color identification of economically important Spodoptera larvae in Honduras. Insecta Mundi 5(3-4): 185-196., Pogue 2002Pogue 2002:
Pogue, M. G. 2002. A world revision of the genus Spodoptera Guenee (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 43. 202 pages., Wagner et al. 2011Wagner et al. 2011:
Wagner, D. L., D. F. Schweitzer, J. B. Sullivan and R. C. Reardon. 2011. Owlet caterpillars of eastern North America. Princeton University Press, New Jersey. 576 pp.).

Some green forms of S. frugiperda resemble S. exigua if the pinaculapinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
are very pale (Passoa 1991Passoa 1991:
Passoa, S. 1991. Color identification of economically important Spodoptera larvae in Honduras. Insecta Mundi 5(3-4): 185-196.). Crumb (1956)Crumb (1956):
Crumb, S. E. 1956. The Larvae of the Phalaenidae. U. S. Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletin 1135. 356 pp. separated these two species, in part, by the position of a line connecting the P1 setaeseta:
a hairlike projection of the body wall that is articulated in a socket; compare to spine
on the head. The line is above the apex of the frontfront:
the frons or frontal area, sometimes including the clypeus
in S. frugiperda but below the apex in S. exigua (see illustrations in Okumura 1961Okumura 1961:
Okumura, G. T. 1961. Identification of lepidopterous larvae attacking cotton. California Department of Agriculture Bureau of Entomology Special Publication 282. 80 pp.). The cuticle has flat granulose texture (Passoa 1991: fig. 4, Pastrana and Henandez 1979: fig. 128). No other Spodoptera species studied by Pogue (2002)Pogue (2002):
Pogue, M. G. 2002. A world revision of the genus Spodoptera Guenee (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 43. 202 pages. has the combination of large pinaculapinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
and granulose skin.

Identification Authority (Detailed)

Spodoptera frugiperda is highly polyphagous, thus host data often does not help identification. The recorded distribution includes almost the entire New World (Pogue 2002Pogue 2002:
Pogue, M. G. 2002. A world revision of the genus Spodoptera Guenee (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 43. 202 pages.), but S. frugiperda does not naturally occur in the Old World. Early instar larvaelarva:
the stages between the egg and pupa of those insects having complete metamorphosis
that show the spot on A1, the large pinaculapinaculum:
a small, flat, or slightly elevated chitinized area bearing a seta or setae
and the granulose texture can be identified as S. frugiperda.

Origin records

S. frugiperda has been intercepted from the following locations:

Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Mexico, Micronesia, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Venezuela

Records from China, Indonesia, Israel, Micronesia, the Netherlands and Thailand require confirmation.

Host records

S. frugiperda has been intercepted on the following hosts:

Abelmoschus esculentus, Abelmoschus sp., Allium cepa, Allium porrum, Allium schoenoprasum, Allium sp., Alstroemeria sp., Amaranthus sp., Ananas comosus, Ananas sp., Anethum graveolens, Anethum sp., Apiaceae, Apium graveolens, Apium graveolens var. dulce, Apium sp., Artemisia dracunculus, Artemisia sp., Asparagus officinalis, Asparagus sp., Aster sp., Asteraceae, Basilicum sp., Beta vulgaris var. cicla, Brassica campestris, Brassica chinensis, Brassica juncea, Brassica oleracea, Brassica oleracea var. botrytis, Brassica oleracea var. capitata, Brassica oleracea var. italica, Brassica pekinensis, Brassica rapa, Brassica rapa ssp. chinensis, Brassica rapa ssp. pekinensis, Brassica sp., Brassicaceae, Bromelia sp., Callistephus chinensis, Callistephus sp., Capsicum annuum, Capsicum frutescens, Capsicum sinense, Capsicum sp., Carica papaya, Carya sp., Celosia sp., Chenopodium berlandieri ssp. nuttalliae, Chenopodium berlandieri ssp. nuttalliae, Chrysanthemum sp., Cicer arietinum, Cichorium endivia, Citrullus lanatus, Citrus aurantiifolia, Codiaeum sp., Cordyline sp., Coriandrum sativum, Cucurbita sp., Cymbidium sp., Cymbopogon citratus, Cynara cardunculus, Cynara scolymus, Cyperus papyrus, Dianthus sp., Diospyros sp., Dysphania ambrosioides, Eruca vesicaria, Eryngium foetidum, Eryngium sp., Fabaceae, Fragaria ananassa, Fragaria sp., Gerbera sp., Gladiolus sp., Gypsophila sp., Helianthus annuus, Helianthus sp., Heliconia sp., Hydrangea sp., Hypericum sp., Iris sp., Lablab sp., Lactuca sativa, Lactuca sp., Lagenaria siceraria, Lamiaceae, Leucaena sp., Lilium sp., Limonium sp., Lycopersicon sp., Mangifera indica, Manihot esculenta, Maranta leuconeura, Maranta sp., Matthiola sp., Mazus sp., Melicoccus bijugatus, Mentha arvensis, Mentha sachalinensis, Mentha sp., Moluccella laevis, Molucella sp., Momordica charantia, Momordica sp., Musa paradisiaca, Musa sp., Ocimum basilicum, Ocimum sp., Opuntia sp., Origanum majorana, Origanum sp., Origanum vulgare, Penstemon sp., Persea americana, Petroselinum crispum, Phaseolus sp., Phaseolus vulgaris, Phormium sp., Physalis philadelphica, Physalis pubescens, Physalis sp., Piper sp., Pisum sativum, Pisum sativum var. macrocarpon, Pisum sp., Poaceae, Prosopis sp., Punica granatum, Ranunculus sp., Raphanus sp., Rosa sp., Rosaceae, Rosmarinus officinalis, Rubus sp., Rubus ursinus, Rumohra sp., Saccharum officinarum, Salvia officinalis, Salvia sp., Sechium edule, Setaria italica, Setaria sp., Solanum integrifolium, Solanum lycopersicum var lycopersicum, Solanum melongena, Solanum sp., Solidago sp., Spinacia oleracea, Strelitzia sp., Stromanthe sp., Tagetes lucida, Tagetes sp., Theobroma cacao, Thymus sp., Thymus vulgaris, Tulipa sp., Vaccinium corymbosum, Vaccinium sp., Vigna sp., Yucca sp., Zantedeschia sp., Zea mays, Zea sp., Zingiber officinale, Zizania sp.