1985 Fall Armyworm Symposium: Migration and Population Dynamics: Fall Armyworm Distribution and Population Dynamics in the Texas-Mexico Gulf Coast Area

Abstract

Fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda J. E. Smith, population trends were studied along the Mexican Gulf Coast, the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and the Yucatan Peninsula using Hartstack pheromone traps. Trap capture generally peaked in November and December, while the lowest capture period occurred during mid year. A temporal progression in trap capture was noted during the early part of the year from Veracruz, Mexico, to the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. A similar temporal progression in occurrence of larval populations from southern areas of the State of Tamaulipas to the Rio Grande Valley was also observed. Studies in an irrigated corn-growing region encompassing the Lower Rio Grande Valley in both southern Texas and northern Tamaulipas, Mexico (with ca. 200,000 ha of corn) showed the major fall armyworm emergence from the area occurred in June, resulting in an adult population of from 6.11X10^8 to 1.72X10^9 moths.