subterranea is vaguely acknowledged as ‘America meridionalis’ in its original description ( Fabricius 1794). Even though authors recognized the presence of the species in Central and North America, F. Early in its original description, the species was readily recognized by the subterranean habits and voracity of its larvae ( Fabricius 1794). subterranea as host plants could represent a significant source of infestation of crops in the agricultural landscape.įeltia subterranea ( Fabricius, 1794), commonly known as the granulate cutworm ( Figs 1–9), is a common species of owlet moths (Noctuidae) of major agricultural importance, widely distributed in Nearctic and Neotropical regions ( Lafontaine 2004) ( Fig. It is noteworthy that the large number of native weeds used by F.

The families with the greatest number of host species were Fabaceae (22), Poaceae (19), Asteraceae (16), Brassicaceae (13), Solanaceae (12), Amaranthaceae (7), Cucurbitaceae (7), and Malvaceae (5). In total, 159 botanical taxa belonging to 41 families were recorded as host species for F. When larval and pupal stage durations were combined, there were no significant differences in total development time as a function of sex. The duration of the pupal stage was significantly shorter in females than in males. The duration of the larval stage was significantly longer in females than in males from the fourth instar. The growth ratio was 1.93 for females and 1.85 for males. All laboratory-reared larvae developed through five instars. The average duration of the egg, larval, pupal stages, and prepupal period was 3, 17, 4, and 13 d, respectively. The viability of the egg, larval, pupal stages, and prepupal period was 98, 98, and 100%, respectively, under laboratory conditions. This study was conducted to determine the species biological parameters, gather information about its larval host plants, and assess the agricultural significance of this species in the Americas. Feltia subterranea (Fabricius), commonly known as the granulate cutworm, is a common species of owlet moths (Noctuidae) of major agricultural importance, widely distributed in Nearctic and Neotropical regions.

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