Spodoptera cosmioides (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Brazil: spatial distribution and relationship in the S. latifascia species group

Abstract

Spodoptera cosmioides (Walker, 1858) is an economically relevant polyphagous moth, widely distributed in the Neotropics and part of the Spodoptera latifascia (Walker, 1856) species group. In this study, we used extensive sampling from different regions to describe the spatial distribution of S. cosmioides in Brazil and evaluate its variability both from morphological and molecular perspectives. Variable coloration and several morphological similarities were found among S. cosmioides and congeners of the S. latifascia complex, diverging from each 0.5 to 3.5% of mitochondrial DNA. The genetic divergence at the species level of S. cosmioides was 0.5% throughout Brazil, and a geographic structure was absent, including shared haplotypes with S. descoinsi Lalanne-Cassou & Silvain, 1994. Spodoptera cosmioides was found in all six biomes of Brazil, with the highest abundance recorded in the Cerrado, followed by the Amazon, Atlantic Rainforest, Caatinga, Pantanal, and Pampa.