Susceptibility of Louisiana and Florida populations of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) to transgenic Agrisure®Viptera™ 3111 corn

In the United States, fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda U. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a target species of transgenic corn (Zea mays L) expressing pyramided Bacillus thuringiensis proteins. In 2011, a total of 150 F-2 two-parent families of S. frugiperda were established using single-pair matings of feral individuals collected from three locations in Louisiana and Florida. The objective of this study was to determine the susceptibility of these field derived families of S. frugiperda to a pyramided Bt corn hybrid containing Agrisure (R) Viptera (TM) 3111 traits. For each F-2 family, 96 neonates were assayed on leaf tissue of Agrisure (R) Viptera (TM) 3111 corn in the laboratory. None of the 150 families survived for 7 days on leaf tissue of the Bt corn plants. The results demonstrate that the field populations of S. frugiperda collected from Louisiana and Florida were susceptible to the pyramided Bt corn product containing Agrisure (R) Viptera (TM) 3111 traits. The data generated in this study can be used as baseline data for resistance monitoring. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.