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Migration strategies and outbreaks of noctuid pests in Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2011

Roger A. Farrow  and
Garrick McDonald
Roger A. Farrow
Affiliation:
Division of Entomology, CSIRO, GPO Box 1700, Canberra, ACT, Australia 2601
Garrick McDonald
Affiliation:
Plant Research Institute, Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Swan Street, Burnley, Victoria, Australia 3121
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Abstract

Cutworms, semiloopers, budworms and armyworms in the genera Agrotis, Chrysodeixis, Heliothis, Mythimna, Persectania and Spodoptera are important pasture and crop pests in Australia. They comprise both cosmopolitan species, such as A. ipsilon, H. armigera, M. separata and S. exempta and endemic species such as A. infusa, H. punctigera, M. convecta, P. ewingii and P. dyscrita. Although the cosmopolitan species are major pests of parts of Asia and Africa, they are, with the exception of H. armigera, less important agricultural pests in Australia than their endemic counterparts. The latter are widely distributed outside cropping areas, because they breed on a wide range of native host plants as well as on introduced crops and pastures and also have the potential to invade cropping areas from native habitats. The cosmopolitan species are largely confined to tropical and subtropical summer crops and improved pastures of north and east Australia where chronic infestations often develop although major outbreaks and migration out of cropping areas are rare. Periodic outbreaks of endemic species result from an unusually favourable growth of vegetation in early autumn, following drought-breaking rains in the inland. Moths arrive in the rain-affected areas as a result of migration and concentration by rain-bearing troughs and depressions. Southward migration of their progeny occurs in spring on warm northerly airflows produced ahead of eastward-moving cold fronts and results in invasions of temperate crops and pastures. Migration also occurs in anticyclonic conditions, resulting in an extensive redistribution of populations and is adapted to the erratic distribution of rainfall in inland Australia. Among cosmopolitan species, only Spodoptera spp. cause outbreaks which are infrequent and occur with the onset of summer rains in coastal and sub-coastal areas. Most movements of cosmopolitan species are confined within cropping areas although migration from coastal to inland crops, under the influence of prevailing SE winds, and in frontal systems, troughs and storm outflows, is also suspected.

Résumé

Les larves de Lépidoptères des genres Agrotis, Chrysodeixis, Heliothis, Mythimna, Persectania et Spodoptera sont d'importants prédateurs des cultures et des pâturages en Australie. Elles englobent des espèces cosmopolites, telles que A. ipsilon, H. armigera, M. separata, S. exempta et des espèces endémiques, telles que A. infusa, H. punctigera, M. convecta, P. ewingii and P. dyscrita. Bien que les espèces cosmopolites soient des prédateurs majeurs dans certaines aires d'Asie et d'Afrique, elles sont, à l'exception de H. armigera, moins importantes comme pestes d'agriculture en Australie que les espèces endémiques. Ces dernières sont largement distribuées hors des régions de culture, parce qu'elles se reproduisent sur un grand nombre de plantes indigènes, aussi bien que sur les cultures et les pâturages d'espèces introduites, et elles ont la capacité d'envahir les surfaces cultivées à partir de leurs habitats. Les espèces cosmopolites sont largement resteintes aux cultures d'été des tropiques et des sous-tropiques et aux pâturages améliorés du nord et de l'est d'Australie ou les infestations chroniques se dévèloppent souvent, quoique les pullulations majeures et les migrations hors les aires de culture soient rares. Des pullulations périodique d'espèces endémiques se produisent lorsque le début d'autumne est exceptionnellement favorable à la croissance de la végétation, après les fortes pluies suivànt une période de sécheresse. Les lépidoptères arrivent dans les aires arrosées par les pluies, du fait de trous d'air et dépressions atmosphériques porteurs de pluie, qui en provoquent la concentration et le migration. Ils produisent une nouvelle génération qui migre vers le sud au printemps, transportée par les vents chauds qui se forment à l'avant de fronts froids, et qui se déplacent vers l'est. Ainsi se produit l'invasion des cultures et pâturages des zones tempérées. Les migrations ont aussi lieu en conditions anti-cycloniques causant une redistribution importante des populations. Ceci est une adaptation à l'irrégularité de la répartition des pluies à l'intèrieur en Australie. Parmi les espèces cosmopolites, seule les spodoptères causent des pullations, mais rarement, à l'arrivée des pluies d'été dans les régions côtières et sub-côtières. Les déplacements des espèces cosmopolites sont généralement confinés aux aires de culture bien que les migrations vers l'intèrieur à partir des côtes soient également suspectées, en cas de de vents de sud-est dominants et dans les fronts atmosphériques, les trous d'air ou les courants orageux.

Keywords

MigrationoutbreaksnoctuidsAustraliaweathercropspastures
Type
Symposium IV: Migration and Dispersal of Tropical Noctuid Moths
Information
International Journal of Tropical Insect Science , Volume 8 , Issue 4-5-6: Recent Advances in Research on Tropical Entomology , December 1987 , pp. 531 - 542
Copyright
Copyright © ICIPE 1987

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