LEPIDOPTEROUS PESTS OF COTTON AND THEIR PARASITOIDS IN A DOUBLE-CROPPING ENVIRONMENT

Seasonal populations of Spodoptera frugiperda, S. exigua, S. eridania, Heliothis virescens, Helicoverpa zea, Pseudoplusia includens, and their parasitoids, were monitored on late-season cotton in northcentral Florida in 1992. The cotton was planted as a second crop, following corn, in one field and as a first crop in a second field in which cotton has not been grown for many years. At least twelve species of parasitoids emerged from lepidopterous larvae collected from the cotton plants. The most common parasitoids were Cotesia marginiventris, Meteorus autographae, Cardiochiles nigriceps, Netelia sayi, and Copidosoma truncatellum. The native parasitoid that showed the most potential as a biological control agent was C. marginiventris, because it attacks a broad range of pests including the Heliothis/Helicoverpa complex, Spodoptera spp., and Pseudoplusia includens.