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First Report of a Migratory Pest, the Fall Armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (JE Smith, 1797) (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) from Bulgaria
by
, , , , , , and
Szabolcs Szanyi
1,*
,
Marek Barta
2,
Dimitar Velchev
3,
Stoyan Beshkov
4,
Stephen Mumford
5,
Ivaylo Todorov
6,
Antal Nagy
1,
Zoltán Varga
7,
Miklós Tóth
8 and
Teodora Toshova
6 1
Institute of Plant Protection, Faculty of the Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, Böszörményi út 138, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
2
Institute of Forest Ecology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Akademická 2, 949 01 Nitra, Slovakia
3
Maize Research Institute, Agricultural Academy, 5835 Knezha, Bulgaria
4
National Museum of Natural History, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1 Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd., 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
5
Independent Researcher, 4292 Dobri Dol, Parvomay, Bulgaria
6
Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1 Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd., 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
7
Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1., 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
8
Plant Protection Institute, CAR, HUN-REN, 1525 Budapest, Hungary
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Insects 2025, 16(2), 134; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16020134 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 3 December 2024
/
Revised: 27 January 2025
/
Accepted: 27 January 2025
/
Published: 30 January 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Travelers on the Wind: Migratory Insects as Emerging Research Models)
Simple Summary
The fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith, 1797) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is an economically important polyphagous owlet moth that is native to the Americas. Over the last decade, this species has become a cosmopolitan pest due to introductions and spontaneous spread. Climate models indicate that the Mediterranean region offers optimal conditions for its establishment in Europe. However, the threatened area could expand significantly due to climate change. The fall armyworm has recently been reported in Spain, Cyprus, Greece, Portugal, Malta, and Romania. In this paper, we present the results of studies conducted in Bulgaria and report the first occurrence of this species in the country in samples collected in 2023.
Abstract
The first occurrence of an invasive pest species, the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda, Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), in Bulgaria is reported. Different trapping methods (black light trap, traps baited with semiochemical lures, and food attractants) were used to study Noctuidae assemblages in Bulgaria in 2023. Two males of S. frugiperda were caught with sex pheromone traps in maize fields in Knezha, northern Bulgaria, in early November 2023. Additionally, three moths were attracted by black light traps (early November 2023) and one moth by a food lure applied on a tree trunk at the end of October 2023 in the municipalities of Parvomay and Chirpan, southern Bulgaria, respectively. The identification of S. frugiperda was confirmed using morphological and molecular methods.
