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Abstract
The aim of the study was to understand the potential role of predators against the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (JE Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), in turfgrass. The first project focused on characterizing the impressions generated by the common arthropods on clay models. Nine impression types were characterized after exposing 17 arthropod taxa to caterpillar-shaped clay models. When non-expert volunteers assessed the impression types, their responses were > 85% accurate. The arthropods initially interacted with the terminal regions of the models according to video recordings. In the second project, the influence of the color, shape, and size of clay models on arthropod interactions during daytime and nighttime were studied in a turfgrass field. The results showed greater numbers of impressions on the blue and green models than on the yellow models during the daytime, and no differences were observed during nighttime. The caterpillar-shaped and large-sized models captured greater impression densities than the beetle-shaped or small-sized models. The third project explored the vertical distribution of predator-prey interactions after placing clay models at lower, intermediate, and upper canopy of turfgrass in choice and no-choice assays. The results showed significantly more densities of predator-mediated impressions were observed on clay models placed at a lower level than on those placed at the intermediate and upper levels of the turfgrass canopy. The fourth project assessed the incidence and severity of predation in residential lawns and sod farms. The percentage of predation on live S. frugiperda sentinel larvae and the percentage incidence and severity of interaction on clay models were significantly greater in the residential lawns than in the sod farms. Eleven impression types were recorded on clay models. Significantly greater densities of formicids were documented interacting with live sentinel larvae than other predatory groups, such as carabids. In the fifth project, the effects of water deprivation on S. frugiperda and Orius insidiosus (Say) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) were studied on bermudagrass. The results showed that a significantly greater S. frugiperda larval mortality with O. insidiosus across water-deprived treatments than without O. insidiosus. The survival and development of S. frugiperda larvae were affected by increased levels of water deprivation.