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Long-term changes in the numbers of Helicoverpa punctigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in a cotton production landscape in northern New South Wales, Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 November 2016

G.H. Baker  and
C.R. Tann
G.H. Baker*
Affiliation:
CSIRO Agriculture and Food, GPO Box 1700, Canberra, A.C.T. 2601, Australia
C.R. Tann
Affiliation:
CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Locked Bag 59, Narrabri, N.S.W. 2390, Australia
*
*Author for correspondence Tel: +61 2 6246 4406 Fax: 61 2 6246 4094 E-mail: Geoff.Baker@csiro.au
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Abstract

Two noctuid moths, Helicoverpa punctigera and Helicoverpa armigera, are pests of several agricultural crops in Australia, most notably cotton. Cotton is a summer crop, grown predominantly in eastern Australia. The use of transgenic (Bt) cotton has reduced the damage caused by Helicoverpa spp., but the development of Bt resistance in these insects remains a threat. In the past, large populations of H. punctigera have built up in inland Australia, following autumn-winter rains. Moths have then migrated to the cropping regions in spring, when their inland host plants dried off. To determine if there have been any long-term changes in this pattern, pheromone traps were set for H. punctigera throughout a cropping landscape in northern New South Wales from 1992 to 2015. At least three generations of moths were caught from spring to autumn. The 1st generation (mostly spring migrants) was the most numerous. Trap captures varied between sites and decreased in time, especially for moths in the 1st generation. Nearby habitat type influenced the size of catch and there was some evidence that local weather also influenced the numbers of moths caught. There was no correlation between trap catches in the cropping region and rainfall in the inland. In addition, there was little evidence that Bt cotton has reduced the abundance of H. punctigera at landscape scale. The apparent decline in the number of presumably Bt susceptible moths arriving each spring in the cropping regions from inland habitats is of concern in relation to the management of Bt resistance.

Keywords

Helicoverpa punctigerapheromone trapsabundanceBt cottonweather
Type
Research Papers
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 107 , Issue 2 , April 2017 , pp. 174 - 187
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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