Relative susceptibility of several noctuid species to a nuclear polyhedrosis virus from Heliothis armiger

The discovery of the multicapsid nuclear polyhedrosis virus of Autographa californica (AcMNPV) and its extensive host range raised hopes for use of a single NPV to control a complex of lepidopteran pestson a crop. Thus, a multicapsid NPV of Heliothis armiger (HaMNPV) was tested against H. zea and Spodoptera frugiperda , which often occur together on crops such as corn and sorghum. H. virescens and S. exigua were also tested to obtain more information on the host range of the virus.