Spodoptera frugiperda

Sosa-Gómez, Daniel Ricardo, Specht, Alexandre, Andrade, Celia Guadalupe Tardelli de Jesus & Murúa, Maria Gabriela, 2024, External microstructure of eggs from major owlet moth pests (Lepidoptera: Noctuoidea) associated with Brazilian soybean crops, Revista Brasileira de Entomologia (e 20240079) 68 (4), pp. 1-17 : 6

Spodoptera frugiperda

Although this species was not commonly found in soybean crops, in recent years it has become more frequent as a defoliator and it can also exhibit behaviour similar to cutworms. The eggs are bluish-grey to green, laid in groups, and distributed in layers, making it difficult for some parasitoids to act ( Beserra and Parra, 2005). The eggs can be covered with abundant filamentous scales. They are nearly spherical, ranging from 390 µm to 560 µm in diameter ( Fig. 7A ). The micropyle is surrounded by irregularly shaped 7–12 primary cells (petals) and the number of micropyles ranges from three to four ( Figs. 7B and 7C ). The aeropyles (0.6-0.9 µm) are located at the intersection of the ribs and cross-ribs ( Figs. 7D and 7E ). The number of ribs ranged from 50 to 63, with the cross-ribs slightly thinner than the ribs. The texture of the chorion surface, observed at a magnification of 12,000x, resembles a fabric texture, similar to intertwined wool yarn ( Fig. 7F ).

Figures

Figure 7 Spodoptera frugiperda eggs.A) eggshell, B) micropylar region and petals of the rosette, blistered surface inside the petals, C) micropyles, D) aeropyles distributed along the radial ribs (white arrow), E) aeropyle, F) texture of the eggshell surface.