Correction: Fall armyworm migration across the Lesser Antilles and the potential for genetic exchanges between North and South American populations.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0171743.].

Fall armyworm migration across the Lesser Antilles and the potential for genetic exchanges between North and South American populations.

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith)(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is an important agricultural pest of the Western Hemisphere noted for its broad host range, long distance flight capabilities, and a propensity to develop resistance to pesticides that includes a subset of those used in genetically modified corn varieties. These characteristics exacerbate the threat fall armyworm poses to agriculture, with the potential that a resistance trait arising in one geographical location could rapidly disseminate throughout the hemisphere. A region of particular concern is the Caribbean, where a line of islands that extends from Florida to Venezuela provides a potential migratory pathway between populations from North and South America that could allow for consistent and substantial genetic interactions. In this study, surveys of populations from Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Trinidad & Tobago expand on previous work in South America that indicates a generally homogeneous population with respect to haplotype markers. This population differs from that found in most of the Lesser Antilles where a combination of genetic and meteorological observations is described that indicate fall armyworm migration from Puerto Rico to as far south as Barbados, but does not support significant incursion into Trinidad & Tobago and South America. Air transport projections demonstrate that the wind patterns in the Caribbean region are not conducive to consistent flight along the north-south orientation of the Lesser Antilles, supporting the conclusion that such migration is minor and sporadic, providing few opportunities for genetic exchanges. The implications of these findings on the dissemination of deleterious traits between the two Western Hemisphere continents are discussed.

Haplotype Profile Comparisons Between Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Populations From Mexico With Those From Puerto Rico, South America, and the United States and Their Implications to Migratory Behavior.

Fall armyworm [Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith)] is a major economic pest throughout the Western Hemisphere of maize, cotton, sorghum, and a variety of agricultural grasses and vegetable crops. Previous studies demonstrated extensive annual migrations occurring as far north as Canada from overwintering locations in southern Florida and Texas. In contrast, migratory behavior in the rest of the hemisphere is largely uncharacterized. Understanding the migration patterns of fall armyworm will facilitate efforts to predict the spread of pesticide resistance traits that repeatedly arise in this species and assess the consequences of changing climatic trends on the infestation range. Four independent fall armyworm colonies derived from widely separated populations in Mexico and two field collections were examined for their mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene haplotypes and compared with other locations. The Mexico populations were most similar in their haplotype profile to those from Texas and South America, but also displayed some distinctive features. The data extend the haplotype distribution map in the Western Hemisphere and confirm that the previously observed regional differences in haplotype frequencies are stable over time. The Mexico collections were associated with haplotypes rarely found elsewhere, suggesting limited migratory interactions with foreign populations, including those in neighboring Texas.

Demonstration Using Field Collections that Argentina Fall Armyworm Populations Exhibit Strain-specific Host Plant Preferences.

Spodoptera frugiperda, the fall armyworm, is a major economic pest throughout the Western Hemisphere of corn (maize), cotton, sorghum, and a variety of agricultural grasses and vegetable crops. Studies in the United States, the Caribbean, and Brazil demonstrated the existence of two subpopulations (previously designated "host strains") that differ in their choice of plant host. Specifically, the corn strain is preferentially found in corn and sorghum, while the rice strain is dominant in rice, turf grass, and alfalfa. However, inconsistent results were reported in surveys of fall armyworm in Argentina, with some indicating that the host plant preferences of the two strains might be compromised or even nonexistent. If correct, this would complicate efforts to control this pest by considerably expanding the range of habitats that would have to be considered as potential sources for fall armyworm infestations in specific crops. A reexamination of Argentine fall armyworm, this time with field collections rather than the laboratory colonies used in previous studies, confirmed the existence of the two strains and their host preferences. Specifically, the corn strain was consistently the majority population infesting corn and was usually so in sorghum, while the rice strain was predominant in pasture/turf grasses and alfalfa. The one outlier was a collection from rice, which had a corn strain majority. Overall, the data were generally consistent with strain behaviors observed in other areas of the Western Hemisphere.

Assessing the resolution of haplotype distributions to delineate fall armyworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) migratory behaviors.

Regions of southern Florida and southern Texas (extending into Mexico) provide the overwintering source populations for virtually all fall armyworm infestations affecting the continental United States. Understanding how these migratory populations annually disperse is important to predict and control infestations by this specific pest and to more generally investigate the environmental factors that influence the long-distance movements of flying insects. The two overwintering locations are associated with differences in the distribution of certain mitochondrial haplotypes that overlap in the region near the border separating the states of Alabama and Georgia. This provided an opportunity to test the resolution of the haplotype method by comparisons between smaller geographical areas and shorter time frames than previously examined. Correspondences were found between trap-capture numbers, fall armyworm strain proportions, and haplotype ratios calculated for individual counties and within season time periods that were generally consistent with expectations, providing confidence that those population movements could be accurately inferred. The comparison of haplotype distributions identified a migratory boundary separating the Texas and Florida populations coincident with the eastern edge of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River basin. Calculations of strain numbers based on genetic markers revealed similarities and differences in strain population dynamics that can be applied to study the migratory behavior of fall armyworm subpopulations. The use of this methodology for the detailed mapping of migratory pathways and the identification of factors that influence the direction and extent of pest migration are discussed.

Inferring the annual migration patterns of fall armyworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in the United States from mitochondrial haplotypes.

Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) or fall armyworm is an important agricultural pest of a number of crops in the western hemisphere. In the United States, infestations in corn acreages extend from the Mexican to the Canadian border. Because fall armyworm does not survive prolonged freezing, the infestations annually affecting most of North America are migrants from southern Texas and Florida, where winter temperatures are mild and host plants are available. A haplotype method was developed that can distinguish between these two geographically distant overwintering populations, with the potential to delineate the associated migratory pathways. Several years of collections from major corn-producing areas in the southern, central, and eastern United States were used to map the geographical distribution of the fall armyworm haplotypes. From these haplotype profiles, it was possible to develop the most detailed description yet of the annual northward movements of fall armyworm. The consistency of these results with past studies and the implications on our understanding of fall armyworm biology are discussed. A better understanding of fall armyworm populations and their movement is critical for the development of strategies to predict infestation levels and eventually control this pest in the United States.

Predator-prey relationships on Apiaceae at an organic farm.

Orius insidiosus (Say) and O. pumilio (Champion) were confirmed to be sympatric in north central Florida as the major predators of the Florida flower thrips, Frankliniella bispinosa (Morgan), on flowers of Queen Anne's lace, Daucus carota L. and false Queen Anne's lace, Ammi majus L. F. bispinosa was the predominant thrips observed on both flowers but colonized D. carota to a greater extent and earlier in the season than A. majus. Despite differences in the abundance of F. bispinosa on the two plants, neither Orius species showed host plant affinities. Population profiles for the thrips and Orius spp. followed a density dependent response of prey to predator with a large initial prey population followed by a rapid decline as the predator populations increased. The temporal increases in Orius spp. populations during the flowering season suggest that they were based on reproductive activity. As observed in a previous study, O. insidiosus had a larger population than O. pumilio and also had a predominantly male population on the flowers. By examining carcasses of the prey, there appeared to be no sexual preference of the thrips as prey by the Orius spp. as the prey pattern followed the demographics of the thrips sex ratio. Few immatures of either thrips or Orius spp. were observed on D. carota or A. majus, which suggests that oviposition and nymphal development occurred elsewhere. Based on these findings, D. carota and A. majus could serve as a banker plant system for Orius spp.

Genetic characterization of fall armyworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) host strains in Argentina.

Fall armyworm is a major economic pest throughout the Western Hemisphere. Previous studies of populations in the southern United States, Brazil, and the Caribbean demonstrated the existence of two morphologically identical but genetically distinct host strains that can only be distinguished using genetic markers, including polymorphisms in the mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) gene and in the Z-chromosome linked Triose phosphate isomerase (Tpi) gene. The strains differ in some physiological and behavioral characteristics, most notably their preference for different plant hosts, but are capable of hybridizing in the laboratory and in the field. These traits suggest that the strains are in the process of divergence, which may or may not be hemispheric in scope. The objective of this study was to determine whether the two strains are present in Argentina. It was found that the strain-diagnostic haplotypes of the COI and Tpi genes subdivided the Argentina population into two major groups. Each group displayed biases in their distribution among different host plants that were generally consistent with expected strain behavior. The overall results indicated that Argentina fall armyworm exhibit similar genetics and behavior to populations in the rest of the hemisphere. In addition, the Argentina populations had comparable haplotype frequencies to those from Brazil and Texas, consistent with possible interactions with these fall armyworm groups, but appeared to have had minimal exchanges with those from Puerto Rico or Florida.

Effects of cyanogenic plants on fitness in two host strains of the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda).

The generalist moth, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) consists of two genetic subgroups (host strains) that differ in their distribution among host plant species. The corn strain prefers crop plants such as corn, sorghum, and cotton, while the rice strain is found in small grasses such as Cynodon spp. and rice. Little is known about the physiological factors that drive this host preference. Here, we report a feeding study with natural host plants and an artificial diet containing cyanide. We found that corn, two Cynodon spp. (bermudagrass C. dactylon (L.) Persoon, 'NuMex Sahara', and stargrass C. nlemfuensis var. nlemfuensis Vanderyst, 'Florona'), and a hybrid between bermudagrass and stargrass, 'Tifton 85', exhibited differences in the concentration of the cyanogenic precursors or cyanogenic potential (HCNp) and the release of hydrogen cyanide per unit time or cyanogenic capacity (HCNc). Corn plants released low levels of hydrogen cyanide, while stargrass had greater HCNp/HCNc than bermudagrass and 'Tifton 85'. Feeding studies showed that corn strain larvae experienced higher mortality than the rice strain when fed stargrass or artificial diet supplemented with cyanide. Also, corn strain larvae excreted higher levels of cyanogenic compounds than the rice strain when fed Cynodon spp. These differences in excretion suggest potential disparities in cyanide metabolism between the two strains. We hypothesize that differences in the susceptibility to cyanide levels in various host plants could play a role in driving strain divergence and what appears to be the incipient speciation of this moth.

Spectrum of cyanide toxicity and allocation in Heliconius erato and Passiflora host plants.

The larvae of three races of Heliconius erato were fed various species of Passiflora containing varying levels of cyanoglucosides. The mortality rate of larvae and pupae rose when larvae were fed species of Passiflora capable of releasing larger quantities of cyanide. When larvae were fed species of Passiflora with these properties, the resulting adult butterflies also released higher levels of cyanide. This may serve as a defense mechanism. The compounds responsible for the release of cyanide were not evenly distributed throughout the adult butterfly's body. The thorax contained the highest concentration of cyanogenic substances, followed by the head, wings, and abdomen. The younger tissues of Passiflora plants had higher levels of cyanide-releasing compounds than stems and mature leaves. Cyanogenic glycoside distribution within the plants is consistent with optimal allocation theory. The levels of cyanide-releasing substances in plants varied depending on the season.