ABSTRACT

Peridroma saucia (Hübner, [1808]) or ‘variegated cutworm’ is a cosmopolitan owlet moth pest resilient and abundant in agroecosystems. However, the morphology of their immatures is only briefly described, and information from distinct life stages is fragmentary. This study describes in detail all immature stages of the species based on a Neotropical population and compares it with populations from other continents and with other cutworm pests found in the Neotropical region. The eggs present useful characters to distinguish P. saucia from other noctuinae pests, such as the number of micropylar openings, and the number and location of aeropyles. The larvae also have unique characters, concentrated on the head capsule (mainly mandibles and spinneret), general color pattern and several aspects on the chaetotaxy. On the other hand, the pupae are remarkably similar to those of cutworms species, although the number of spines on cremaster is potentially a diagnosable character. In general, immature characters can therefore be useful to identify P. saucia regardless of the life stage. These results confirm the relevance of detailed morphological studies on immature of pest species that may be useful to identify and distinguish these individuals without the need of obtaining adults.

摘要

Peridroma saucia (Hübner, [1808]) 或“杂色地老虎”是一种世界性的枭蛾害虫，在农业生态系统中具有弹性和丰富性。然而，它们的幼体形态只是简要描述，来自不同生命阶段的信息是零碎的。本研究根据新热带种群详细描述了该物种的所有未成熟阶段，并将其与来自其他大陆的种群以及在新热带地区发现的其他地老虎害虫进行了比较。鸡蛋呈现出区分P. saucia 的有用特征来自其他夜蛾科害虫，例如珠孔开口的数量以及气孔的数量和位置。幼虫也有独特的特征，集中在头囊（主要是下颌骨和喷丝头）、一般的颜色图案和对毛状体的几个方面。另一方面，尽管提睾丸上的刺的数量可能是一个可诊断的特征，但它们的蛹与地老虎的蛹非常相似。一般来说，无论生命阶段如何，不成熟的特征都有助于识别P. saucia。这些结果证实了对未成熟害虫物种进行详细形态学研究的相关性，这些研究可能有助于识别和区分这些个体，而无需获取成虫。