Assessment of the impact of arthropod predators on noctuid larvae in cages in soybean fields

Cage studies were conducted in the field in order to evaluate the effectiveness of entomophagous arthropods in reducing noctuid pest populations in soybeans. First and second-stage noctuid larvae were distributed randomly on soybean plants and exposed to single predator species and predator complexes for 4 to 9 days. In tests with single species in which densities of adult predators and prey varied, Oxyopes salticus Hentz took 7.4 larvae, Nabis roseipennis Reuter took 6.2 larvae, Geocoris punctipes (Say) consumed up to 3.4 larvae, Pardosa spp. took 3.3 larvae, and Lebia analis Dejean took 1.8 larvae per adult before larvae became too large for the predators to consume.