Comparative biology of invasive fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda Smith (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on maize, castor and artificial diet

The study on biology of fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), conducted on different natural hosts (maize and castor) and artificial diet under laboratory conditions (26 ± 1° C, 75 to 80% RH) revealed host and diet dependent variations in biological parameters (incubation period: mean ± SE, 2.60 ± 0.09, 2.50 ± 0.09 and 2.83 ± 0.13 days; larval duration: mean ± SE, 17.03 ± 0.33, 18.53 ± 0.34 and 21.14 ± 0.20 days; pupal period: mean ± SE, 10.13 ± 0.24, 10.63 ± 0.23 and 11.40 ± 0.25 days; male adult longevity: mean ± SE, 8.30 ± 0.20, 8.10 ± 0.14 and 7.73 ± 0.13 days and female adult longevity: mean ± SE, 10.33 ± 0.19, 9.80 ± 0.14 and 9.76 ± 0.13 days on maize, castor and artificial diet, respectively. Differences were also noticed in the moth’s fecundity, pre-oviposition, oviposition, post-oviposition and the total life periods.