POPULATION-STRUCTURE AND TRANSFER SUCCESS OF NOCTUIDONEMA-GUYANENSE (NEMATODA, APHELENCHOIDIDAE) ON MOTHS OF SPODOPTERA-FRUGIPERDA (LEPIDOPTERA, NOCTUIDAE)

Age distribution, population dispersion, and transfer success of Noctuidonema guyanense Remillet and Silvain on adults of Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) were studied in the laboratory. The nematode population was composed of 77% juveniles (J), 68% of which were J3-J4s. Among adult nematodes, 60% were females. The dispersion of N. guyanense on feral male moths varied from fairly uniform among abdominal segments to clumped on segments 8-10. Transfer success of N. guyanense among mating hosts averaged 2.8% for juveniles and 7.2% for adults on hosts mating a mean of 98 min. On moths mating an average of 415 min, the transfer of nematodes from infested male moths to female moths averaged 19.4% for juveniles and 18.5% for adults.