The invasion of Spodoptera frugiperda (JE Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) toward Southeastern Türkiye

Year 2023, Volume: 4 Issue: 1, 53 - 59, 18.12.2023

Adil Tonğa

Abstract

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (JE Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) has rapidly expanded its distribution on a worldwide scale and was recently introduced in Türkiye from the eastern side of the Mediterranean region. Regular surveys were followed in the Southeastern region, Türkiye and confirmed the expansion of the pest in new territories. The larval specimens were noticed by specific diagnostic features, particularly an inverted Y-shape marking on the head capsule and four black spots in a square pattern on the dorsal side of the eighth abdominal segment. The pest has very recently arrived in Suruç county of Şanlıurfa province in Southeastern Türkiye. However, its early invasion remained restricted since other surrounding maize lands in other counties of Şanlıurfa, namely, Akçakale, Bozova, Harran, Karaköprü, and Siverek, and other neighboring provinces, Diyarbakır and Mardin, as well as far eastern provinces such as Batman and Şırnak were found uninfested. This study emphasizes the requirement of continuous monitoring efforts to establish an understanding of Integrated Pest Management strategies (IPMs) including native and invasive maize pests.

Keywords

Invasive species, rapid dispersion, lepidopteran maize pests, The fall armyworm, Noctuidae, Southeastern Anatolia Region

Thanks

The author thanks to Mustafa Erkek for his help during surveys and to Dr. Hend Omar Mohamed for confirmation of the identification.

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