New association between Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and native natural enemies: Bioprospection of native natural enemies as biological control agents

Abstract

Fall armyworm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda is an invasive pest that enters Indonesia which can pose a serious threat to the continued production of maize and other crops. This condition is exacerbated if there are no natural enemies who can control the pests. This study aims to explore potential native natural enemies to control the population of FAW in Indonesia and the influence of habitat conditions on the distribution and population of natural enemies. The research was conducted in seven sub-districts in Bogor and three plots were selected from each district. Observation of natural enemies was carried out directly by collecting samples of eggs and larvae of FAW which attacked maize with the transect method on 200 individual plants. The samples collected will be rearing until the parasitoids emerged. We Collected seven genera of parasitoids that were associated with FAW: Apanteles, Charops, Euplectrus, Microplitis, Telenomus, Trichogramma, and two types of predators: ground beetles and Assasin bug. The highest parasitization rate of egg parasitoid was 93.4% while for larvae parasitoid was 12.44%. In conclusion, Telenomus and Microplitis are native parasitoids that can be used as potential natural enemies to control the S. frugiperda population in the field.