Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1984 Interactions of Soybean Arthropods and Crop Weeds: Diversity, Moth Nutrition, and Stability (Foraging Behavior, Nectar Analysis, Lepidopterous). Fred Lewis Collins Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Collins, Fred Lewis, "Interactions of Soybean Arthropods and Crop Weeds: Diversity, Moth Nutrition, and Stability (Foraging Behavior, Nectar Analysis, Lepidopterous)." (1984). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 3952. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/3952 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. 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These prints are available upon request from the Dissertations Customer Services Department. 5. Some pages in any document may have indistinct print. In all cases the best available copy has been filmed. University Microfilms International 300 N. Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 8425867 Collins, Fred Lewis INTERACTIONS OF SOYBEAN ARTHROPODS AND CROP WEEDS: DIVERSITY, MOTH NUTRITION, AND STABILITY The Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical Col.Ph.D. 1984 University Microfilms International300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 Interactions of Soybean Arthropods and Crop Weeds: Diversity, Moth Nutrition, and Stability A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Entomology by Fred Lewis Collins B.S., Louisiana State University, 1977 M.S., University of Florida, 1980 May 1984 Acknowledgements I want to express my gratitude to the individuals who have helped me during the last four years while at Louisiana State University: to Dr. Seth Johnson, a friend and major advisor during the course of study and research, who gave me support and encouragement and who furnished necessary equipment for this investigation; to Dr. L. D. Newsom, who provided insight to specific areas of my research and who always radiated enthusiasm for research ideas; to Dr. Jerry Graves, who was always helpful and supportive of my research and academic efforts; to Dr. Dan Clower, who provided helpful comments and initiated my interest in cotton entomology; to Dr. David Boethel, who provided insight to my soybean research project and helped out in the final juncture by reviewing my dissertation; to Dr. Lane Foil, for constructive comments and good humor: to Dr. Tom Harger, who took a real interest in my research and helped to make this an interdisciplinary project; to Dr. Jerry Berggren for advice and reviewing my dissertation; and to Dr. Maurice Terry for assistance with the nectar analysis. Also, thanks to the migration project crew; Dr. Dorothy Pashley, Linda Mason, Deborah Anazonwu, Joon-Ho Lee, Karen Irvin, Ruben Mendoza, and Allen Perkins for friendship, constructive comments and laboratory assistance; to Noel Troxclair, Stormy Sparks, Jeff Flynn for friendship and exchange of ideas, to Dick Kasul for statistical assistance; and to Anthony Pavloff for typing and preparation of the dissertation. Most of all I want to express my deep appreciation to my dear wife and daughter, Marilyn and Michelle; to my parents Fred and Jeannie Collins; and to my in-laws, Doc and Una Mae Nugent for supporting and encouraging me through the periods when I wondered if the end would ever come. To those who wonder if it was worth it, it was. i ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................. iv LIST OF TABLES.................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES................................................... vii ABSTRACT........................................................... viii I. Literature Review............................................ 1 Introduction........ .......................................... 1 Diversity Versus Stability Controversy.................... 3 The Role of Weeds in the Soybean Arthropod Interaction... 6 Moth Nutrition................................................ 8 Literature Cited.............................................. 14 Notes.......................................................... 19 II. Association of Soybean Arthropod Abundance with Crop Weediness................................................... 20 Introduction.................................................. 20 Materials and Methods........................................ 21 Arthropod survey of soybean with and without weeds in 1980....................................................... 21 St. Gabriel weed-arthropod plot study: 1981 and 1982... 26 Results........................................................ 27 1980 Arthropod survey of soybean with and without weeds in 1980............................................ 27 St. Gabriel weed-arthropod plot study: 1981 and 1982... 32 Discussion and Conclusions.................................. 38 Literature Cited.............................................. 44 III. Adult Velvetbean Caterpillar and Soybean Looper Diets: Effects of Food Quality and Interval of Exposure on Fecundity and Longevity.................................. 46 Introduction................................................. 46 Methods and Materials.............................. 48 Response of female soybean looper moths to sugar, amino acids, and salts................................. 48 VBC and SBL fecundity as affected by nectar mimics and other sugars........................................ 50 Effects of interval and timing of adult feeding on SBL and VBC fecundity and longevity.................... 56 Results...................................................... 57 Response of female soybean looper moths to sugar, amino acids, and salts................................. 57 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONTINUED) Page VBC and SBL fecundity as affected by nectar mimics and other sugars........................................ 60 Effects of interval and timing of adult feeding on SBL and VBC fecundity and longevity.................. 64 Discussion and Conclusions................................. 69 Literature Cited............................................ 74 Notes .......................... 76 IV. Reproductive Response of Caged Adult Velvetbean Caterpillar and Soybean Looper to the Presence of W ee d s ...................................................... 77 Introduction................................................. 77 Materials and Methods...................................... 78 Ovipositional response of adult SBL to various caged nectar sources and VBC ovipositional response to three densities of hemp sesbania in greenhouses 78 Response of the reproductive system of female VBC and SBL after exposure to weedy and weed-free soybeans in field cages.......................................... 80 Results......................................... 83 Ovipositional response of adult SBL to various caged nectar sources and VBC ovipositional response to three densities of hemp sesbania in greenhouses 83 Response of the reproductive system of female VBC and SBL after exposure to weedy and weed-free soybeans in field cages.......................................... 86 Discussion and Conclusions................................. 91 Literature Cited............................................ 95 Notes........................................................