Cutworm species (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) feeding on grapevines in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, with notes on rearing

Eighteen species of cutworm moths were collected as larvae feeding at night on grapevines, Vitis sp. L. (Vitaceae), in south-central British Columbia, Canada, during April and May from 2004 to 2008. Ten species belonged to two genera, Abagrotis Smith and Euxoa Hbner. Abagrotis orbis (Grote), A. nefascia (Smith), and A. reedi Buckett accounted for over 85% of cutworms reared to adulthood. Abagrotis orbis and A. reedi were found in all locations; the former accounted for nearly 90% of larvae collected from vineyards on warm sandy soils. Abagrotis nefascia was largely restricted to cooler sites with heavier soils. For laboratory-reared A. orbis, pupal mass was highest and sex ratios were approximately equal when larvae were reared either on a pinto bean-based diet prepared with the recommended amount of water or on a commercial black cutworm diet and 50% of the recommended water. Survival to adult eclosion was significantly higher on the black cutworm diet, but because this was thicker than the pinto bean-based diet it was impractical to use. To date, A. orbis, A. nefascia, and A. reedi have been laboratory-reared continuously on artificial diet for more than six generations.