A review conducted by CABI scientist Dr. Marc Kenis suggests that the parasitoid Eiphosoma laphygmae is likely to be the best classical biological control from the Americas against the devastating fall armyworm pest.
Dr. Kenis, Head of Risk Analysis and Invasion Ecology, based at CABI’s Swiss center in Delémont, evaluated the prospects and constraints of a classical biological control program to fight the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) using larval parasitoids, which are considered the most suitable natural enemies of the pest.
His findings are published in the Journal of Economic Entomology.
The fall armyworm—which originates from tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas—is a highly destructive pest of over 350 plant species, though it favors staple foods of millions including maize, rice and sorghum.
A previous review led by Dr. Kenis, published in Entomologia Generalis, provided a comprehensive study of the