First Report of Metarhizium rileyi Infecting Fall Army Worm Spodoptera frugiperda (J E Smith) from Nepal

The fall army worm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda (Noctuidae: Lepidoptera) is an invasive polyphagous pest that prefers maize crop in the newly invaded regions like Africa, Asia, Australasia, and some Pacific Islands and was recorded in Nepal in the year 2019. Surveys were conducted in the maize fields to collect various natural enemies for utilization in the management of FAW. Several larvae infected with an unidentified fungus were collected and subjected to morphological and molecular analysis for identification as Metarhizium rileyi. In bioassay studies we observed percent larval mortality at 1x10⁸ conidia/ml suspension. This is the first report of M. rileyi infecting S. frugiperda from Nepal.