Back to list Identification of lepidopteran larvae of agricultural importance Futurcrop - 26-06-2018 The identification of immature stages of Lepidoptera is possible, but the literature on this is rather scarce. Through FuturCrop's automated and continuous calculation of the phases of the biological cycle of the pests, the genus and species of the pests can be determined, without the need to finish the complete biological cycle, even in the case of pests that have a prolonged biological cycle (larval development can last between weeks and years, depending on the case). The agricultural pest control software sends notices to the user when there are modifications in the phases of the development of the pests and, in this way, through the software it is possible to control the population development, to determine the optimal moment and the opportune way of treatment for your control. Save costs and optimize production. Lepidoptera are the taxonomic order of insects with more species considered of economic importance due to their pest effect in agriculture. Although the order contains more than 150,000 described species, and it is estimated that they can reach 255,000, there are thirteen superfamilies with species that constitute pests. The damage that the pests of the order Lepidoptera cause to the crops happens fundamentally during its larval phase. Adults of the order Lepidoptera are, with some exceptions, easy to identify. These are insects with two pairs of wings covered by flat scales, which also cover a good part of the body. But adult lepidoptera do not cause damage to crops, since in most cases they feed on the juices of flowers. The larvae, on the other hand, have a chewing mouth, with which they usually defoliate, drill or perforate the vegetables (see table I). For the survival of this order of insects it is very important that larvae and adults of lepidoptera do not share the same habitat or the same food. LEPIDÓPTERAE Superfamily Superfamily Family Damage Vegetable Species Bobycoidea bombicoideos Lasiocampidae, Saturnlidae Defoliators Fruit trees, oak groves Cossoidea Cósidos Cossidae Borers Fruit trees Gelechioidea Geléchidos Gelechiidae Leafminers, borers Fruit trees, hotalizas, hebaceous Geometroidea Geométricos Geometridae Defoliators Fruit trees and ash trees Noctuoidae Noctuoideos Artiidae, Lymantriidae, Notuidae, Notodontidae, Thaumetoposeidae They are usually cutters. They attack leaves and fruits, bulbs, tubers and roots. They also attack the inside of the stems. Forest pests can be defoliators Vegetables, cereals, forestry Papilionoidea Papilionoideos Nymphalidae, Papilionidae, Pieridae Defoliators Vegetables and fruit trees Pyraloidea Pirálidos Pyralidae Stem borers in horticultural crops and fruits pine and citrus Sesiodea Sésidos Sesiidae Borers Leafy Sphingoidea Esfíngidos Sphingidae Defoliators Solaceas and vineyards Tinoidea Tinoideos Gracillaliidae, Lyonetiidae Leafminers Citrus and fruit trees Torticoidea Tortícidos Tortricidae Buds and buds drills in forestry. In agriculture they feed on leaves, shoot drillers, fruits and seeds attack leaves (rolling them with silk threads), flower buds, buds and fruits Pinnaceae and agricultural crops Yponomeutoidea Iponomeutoideos Plutellidae, Yponomeutidae Buds and buds drills in forestry. In agriculture they feed on leaves, shoot drillers, fruits and seeds attack leaves (rolling them with silk threads), flower buds, buds and fruits Zygaenoidea Zigénidos Zygaenidae Defoliators Fruit trees Table I. Elaborated from agricultural and forest pests, Jesús Selfa and Jorge Luis Anento, Bol. S.E.A. No. 20 (1997): 75-91 When the organism passes from a very premature and different phase of the final organism (ie larvae) to adults, the process is called holometabola metamorphosis. This type of metamorphosis has great evolutionary success, since larvae and adults feed differently, and therefore there is no competition for resources between organisms of the same species. In addition to lepidoptera, coleotpera (beetles) also perform a holometalic metamorphosis, hymenoptera (bees, wasps and ants) and diptera (flies and mosquitoes). FuturCrop is the first software that helps with the identification of the species from the beginning of the pest, and the planning of the optimal time of treatment (both chemical insecticides and biological control methods) Related posts: Agricultural pest control in their larval stages Taxonomy of pests FuturCrop improves the monitoring of pests and the effectiveness of treatments Related links: HOSTS - a Database of the World´s Lepidopteran Hostplants (Lepidoptera drill-down search, y hostplant drill-down search) Optimized treatment of aphids using FuturCrop Agricultural pest control in their larval stages Subscribe to our newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed about all the news regarding futurcrop and take advantage of the special offers Insert your full name Insert your email I have read and accept the privacy policy Subscribe