Insects pests in tropical pastures Mocis latipes

The meter worm, to reach its adult stage goes through a metamorphosis or shape changes that will be described below:

* Egg phase: the adult insect usually lays its eggs near the central rib of the leaves, some authors point out that specifically on the underside of the leaves, but in some field reviews the ovipostures have been observed on both sides of the leaf, on the other hand according to Aguilar (2016), the eggs hatch after approximately 4 to 6 days, likewise another data of interest reported by Álvarez and Sánchez (n.d.), is concerning the beginning of oviposition, pointing out that the females they start this process on the third day after emerging from the pupa, important information since it can be observed how quickly the insect population spreads when it reaches its highest stage of maturity.

* Larva phase: at this stage, because it is harmful to the foliage of pasture crops, we consider it important to refer to an experiment carried out by Álvarez and Sánchez (n.d.), where they observed in detail the changes that occur in the biological cycle of said species and specifically in the larval state since, they managed to provide interesting information that allows establishing management strategies in the crop. The aforementioned authors determined that the larval period has a duration range between 14 and 22 days approximately, obtaining an average of 18 days, during the mentioned period they go through six instars until reaching their adult stage.

During the different instars, the researchers managed to determine some damages caused by the larvae as they increase their maturity and at temperatures of 32 °C, which are the temperatures between which some tropical areas oscillate, such as certain areas of the South of Lake Maracaibo, these damages have been corroborated on the foraging surfaces of the Southern area of the Lake by conducting some inspections especially in pastures of Melinis minutiflora (fat grass). Then, in image 3 the days that the larva remains in each instar will be detailed.

*Pupal phase: as mentioned in the Spodoptera frugiperda article the pupal phase is a transitional stage where the insect ceases to be a larva and prepares to become an adult, the insect forms a kind of hard shell where it will remain for a certain time without eating and moving until leaving the pupa become an adult. In the case of the Mocis latipes they spawn on the leaves of weeds or on pasture crops, they usually tend to bend the leaf and wrap themselves in it with a kind of soft thread that they secrete, the pupae as the days go by change color starting with a green color until culminating with a dark brown color, in this way they form their compartments where they will stay for approximately 5 to 11 days depending on the temperatures as reported by the FUSAGRI farmer service foundation.

According to the above regarding temperatures, it is necessary to mention that according to the National Institute of Agricultural Technology INTA, the pupal state is the form of resistance for the winter period, a situation that does not interfere in our areas, since they do not register very low temperatures that can raise their mortality levels, for this reason the aforementioned pupal period will be fulfilled until they reach their adult state without low temperatures interfering significantly.

*Adult phase: the adult can be considered a brown nocturnal moth or butterfly, with an approximate size of 2 to 4 cm approximately, it has nocturnal habits placing itself in the foliage of grasslands or weeds, the butterfly stays at this stage for about 17 days and as mentioned above they can get to place their eggs on the third day of emerging approximately on either side of the leaf (beam and underside), near the central rib , thus starting the cycle again.

The biological cycle of the insect has an average duration of 35 days, in image 5 it is observed that according to the approximate ranges in days a maximum of 66 days can be reached, this can occur according to Espinoza (2016), in regions with temperate climates where the cycle could be prolonged between 60 and 80 approximately, this possibly because temperatures decrease considerably and the insect would remain more days in its pupal stage.