Occurrence of genus Amyna (Noctuidae: Bagisarinae) among the semilooper complex infesting soybean at Udaipur

Abstract

The semilooper complex infesting soybean was studied in a field experiment laid out at the instructional farm of Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur, during kharif 2016. The semilooper complex included the following species: Trichoplusia ni (Hubner), Chrysodeixis includens (Walker), Chrysodeixis acuta (Walker), Chrysodeixis chalcites (Esper), Amyna axis (Guenee) and Amyna natalis (Walker). The semilooper population was the maximum during mid-August (7.25/5 plants) and evinced a significant negative correlation with the mean atmospheric temperature (r = - 0.64); while, a significant positive correlation with the mean relative humidity (r= + 0.86) and total rainfall (r= + 0.61), notable being abundant after the rains. The morphological characterization of the two species of Amyna is given with suitable photographs, besides reporting the occurrence of A. natalis on soybean for the first time. A key to distinguish the two species has also been presented.