Effects of Moisture during Starvation of Larvae of the Pale Western Cutworm, Agrotis orthogonia Morr. (Lepidoptera: Phalaenidae)

Abstract

Larvae of the pale western cutworm, Agrotis orthogonia Morr., feed almost entirely below ground, attacking their food plants just below the soil surface. Larval movement and feeding usually occur at the interface between dry and moist soil. They can absorb moisture from the soil and also from the plants on which they are feeding.In a previous investigation, Jacobson (1952) found that mortality from starvation varied directly with temperature and inversely with the size of larvae when the relative humidity was kept near 100 per cent. This paper is a report on the role of moisture during starvation.