Predators of fall armyworm in different cover crop habitats

Fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a serious worldwide pest of maize, pasture grasses, and vegetable crops. Many predatory insects can attack all stages of this pest, including eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults. In studies with different cover crop plants, almost 2,000 predatory carabid beetles were collected, including Calosoma sayi, Tetracha carolina, and Cicindela punctulata. However, there were no differences in numbers found in forage corn, cowpeas, sorghum-sudangrass, or sunn hemp plots. In plots where a rye cover crop was terminated before or after maize was planted, several predator species were found including the earwig Labidura riparia. In research organic fields, more carabids were found in plots that were tilled, had mulch added, and had no cover crops planted. In comparison, more spiders were found in plots that were not tilled and had no mulch added.