Environmental Entomology (1999) 28, 275-281

F. Zeng, S.B. Ramaswamy, R.G. Luttrell, J. Reed, C.D. Parker Jr., S. Stewart, A. Harris, K. Knighten, J. Robbins, J. Xia and C. Sutula (1999)
Comparison of monoclonal antibody and laboratory rearing techniques to identify heliothentinae (Lepidoptera : Noctuidae) eggs from Mississippi cotton fields
Environmental Entomology 28 (2), 275-281
Abstract: Laboratory rearing and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to identify tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens (F), and bollworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), eggs collected from cotton fields in Mississippi. Identification of eggs by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was consistent with that by laboratory rearing. Significant relationships were detected between percentage eggs identified by rearing and by ELISA for H. virescens (R2 = 0.87) and for H. zea (R2 = 0.89). Percentage of H. virescens or H. zea detected in the field in pheromone traps was consistent with those detected using rearing and ELISA in late July but different from those in late August. This study shows that the monoclonal antibody-based ELISA provides a reliable, simple, and convenient way to determine the proportion of H. virescens and H. zea eggs collected from cotton fields.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Database assignments for author(s): Sonny B. Ramaswamy

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
surveys/sampling/distribution
identification/taxonomy

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Helicoverpa zea	Cotton (Gossypium)	U.S.A. (mid S)
	Heliothis virescens	Cotton (Gossypium)	U.S.A. (mid S)