Native larval parasitoids of fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), the recent invasive pest on maize in Egypt and its some biological aspects Article History

The fall armyworm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is the recent invasive pest species, it spreads successfully across Kom-Ombo city of Aswan Governorate, Upper Egypt in May 2019. It disrupts agriculture, particularly smallholder grain production such as maize cultivation. This study was undertaken to document two parasitoids, Exorista sorbillans (Wiedemann) and Pseudogonia rufifrons (Wiedemann) (Diptera; Tachinidae) and one parasitoid species Microplitis sp. (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), were detected from infected FAW larvae which, were collected from maize fields during August, September, and October. The highest parasitism rate was recorded on 1 st October in two locations at Aswan by 30.77%. Moreover, some biological aspects of FAW were recorded, which an average of 156.13 ±16.57 eggs/mass were emerged after an average of 3.47 days, with hatchability of 89.18%. Larval and pupal average duration were 20.93 and 12.60 days, respectively, pre-ovipostion, oviposition and post-oviposition were 11, 5.13 and 4.93 days respectively.