Geranium carolinianum as an Early Host for Heliothis zea and H. virescens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in the Southeastern United States, with Notes on Associated Parasites1

Abstract

Larvae of Heliothis virescens (F.) and H. zea (Boddie) were collected abundantly during 1964 and 1965 from Carolina cranesbill, Geranium carolinianum L., in Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina. This plant was found serving as a previously unreported early-season host throughtout the collection area. Population densities of the respective larvae on it are reported for the various areas, as well as those in a single collection from toadflax, Linaria canadensis (L.) Dumont, adjacent to a South Carolina stand of G. carolinianum. Seven species of hymenopterous parasites, namely, Cardiochiles nigriceps Viereck, Microplitis croceipes (Cresson), Hyposoter sp., Campoletis sp., Rogas aciculatus (Cresson), Apanteles marginiventris (Cresson), and Netelia (Netelia) sp., were identified from the Heliothis of the 1965 collections.