Helicoverpa armigera (H ü bner, 1808) *

COMMON NAME(S):African bollworm, African cotton bollworm, American bollworm, Corn earworm, Cotton Bollworm, Fruitworm, Gram pod borer, Old World African bollworm, Old World bollworm, Old World (African) Bollworm Moth, Podborer, Scarce Bordered Straw, Tobacco budworm, Tomato grub.

SYNONYM(S): Helicoverpa commoni Hardwick, 1965; Helicoverpa conferta (Walker, 1857b); Helicoverpa obsoleta sensu auct. nec (Fabricius, 1793); Helicoverpa pulverosa (Walker, 1857b); Helicoverpa rama (Bhattacherjee & Gupta, 1972); Helicoverpa uniformis (Wallengren, 1860); Helicoverpa zea sensu auct. nec (Boddie, 1850).

IUCN STATUS: Not Evaluated (NE).

DISTRIBUTION: Distributed widely in the tropics and subtropics, including most of the African continent in countries like Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Chad, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Réunion, Rwanda, Saint Helena _ Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Tanzania, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe (African Moths, 2019; De Prins and De Prins, 2022; Gardiner, 2004; Hampson, 1910c; Karel & Autrique, 1989). According to De Prins & De Prins (2022), this taxon is also found in the Australasian region: Australia, Fiji, Guam, Kiribati, New Caledonia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea; the Nearctic region: U.S.A.; the Neotropical region: Argentina, Barbados, Brazil, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela; the Oriental region: India, Indonesia (Borneo, Java, Sumatra), Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Vietnam; and the Palaearctic region: Afghanistan, Algeria, China, Egypt, Europe (migrant), Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Mongolia, Morocco, Russia, Sikkim, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey.

LOCALITY IN ZAMBIA: Magoe, Monze ** and Choma, in Southern Province; Portion of the Southern Africa biodiversity conservation four corners area in Zambia in Northwestern, Western and Southern Provinces of the country; Kafue ** and Lusaka **, in Lusaka Province.

LARVAL HOSTPLANT(S): This taxon is a highly polyphagous species. The most important host crops are tomato, cotton, pigeon pea, chickpea, sorghum and cowpea. Other hosts include groundnut, okra, peas, field beans, soybeans, lucerne, Phaseolus spp., other Leguminosae, tobacco, potatoes, maize, flax, Dianthus, Rosa, Pelargonium, Chrysanthemum, Lavandula latifolia Medik., a number of fruit trees, forest trees and a range of vegetable crops. Also feeds on Lantana camara L. in Zambia. According to Karel & Autrique (1989), the taxon is also a major pest of common beans and other legumes in Africa, especially in eastern Africa. The following are important parasitoids of the taxon in South Africa: Chelonus curvimaculatus Cameron (Braconidae), Telenomus ullyetti Nixon (Scelionidae), Trichogrammatoidea lutea Girault (Trichogrammatidae) and two species Drino laxa (Curran) and Paradrino halli (Curran) form the Diptera family Tachinidae are parasitoids of the taxon (Prinsloo & Uys 2015). The wasp, Xanthopimpla stemmator (Thunberg) (Ichneumonidae) is also a parasitoid of the taxon in an unnamed country elsewhere in Africa (Rousse & Villemant 2012).

SOURCES: African Moths 2019; De Prins & De Prins 2022; Hampson 1910c; Karel & Autrique 1989; Rousse & Villemant 2012.