Furia virescens (Thaxter) Humber (Zygomycetes: Entomophthoraceae) Infections in the Armyworm, Pseudaletia unipuncta (Haworth) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Arkansas with Notes on Other Natural Enemies

An epizootic caused by Furia virescens (Thaxter) Humber (Zygomycetes: Entomophthorales) was studied in a population of armyworms, Pseudaletia unipuncta (Haworth), in a tall fescue, Festuca arundinacea Schreber (Poaceae), pasture in Arkansas. Prevalence rates in live larvae collected from the field were 21.6, 8.1 and 13.5% for F. virescens, the braconid parasitoid Glyptapanteles militaris (Walsh), and an unidentified mermithid nematode, respectively. In a laboratory trial one Heliothis virescens (F.) larva was infected by F. virescens. Previously unrecorded aspects of the morphology and life cycle of F. virescens are described. Pseudaletia unipuncta and H. virescens are new host records for F. virescens.