Survivorship of Chloridea virescens1 under storage and transportation

Authors: BLANCO, CARLOS - University Of New Mexico; HERNANDEZ, GERARDO - Guanajuato Campus Of Cinvestav; Corona, Miguel; FINKENBINDER, CHAD - Benzon Research Inc; GARCIA-GUTIERREZ, CIPRIANO - Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro De Desarrollo De Productos Bioticos (CEPROBI); MORRIS, ASHLEY - Benzon Research Inc; NELSON, TABATHA - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA); PORTILLA, MARIBEL - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA); ROSARIO-LEBRON, ARMANDO - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA); WINDER, ESSANYA - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA); WINTER, HENRY - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA)

Submitted to: Southwestern Entomologist
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/30/2024
Publication Date: 2/28/2025
Citation: Blanco, C., Hernandez, G., Corona, M.V., Finkenbinder, C., Garcia-Gutierrez, C., Morris, A., Nelson, T., Portilla, M., Rosario-Lebron, A., Winder, E., Winter, H. 2025. Survivorship of Chloridea virescens1 under storage and transportation. Southwestern Entomologist. 49(4):1494-1506. https://doi.org/10.3958/059.049.0436.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3958/059.049.0436

Interpretive Summary: The tobacco budworm (TBW) is a native pest of the Americas that can reproduce on over 100 types of crops and ornamental plants. This pest is known to migrate long distances and is sometimes intentionally transported both within and outside its current range for research and commercial purposes. Recently, TBW has been found in imported European produce and ornamental plants. It is essential to document how viable this pest remains under suboptimal temperatures and transportation conditions. The main objectives of this study were to examine the survival of TBW eggs and larvae during transport by overnight carriers, and to assess the survival of these stages when stored at two cold temperatures over several days. Our results indicate that freezing temperatures are harmful to the survival of both eggs and larvae, while the effects of transportation itself are not significant. We found that larvae are more severely affected by freezing temperatures (around 0 °C) than eggs. Additionally, storage at 3 °C negatively impacts the pest's survival, depending on the duration of refrigeration. This risk analysis regarding the survival of TBW is important for regulatory authorities outside its current distribution range and for laboratories that supply viable TBW to customers.

Technical Abstract: Eggs and larvae of Chloridea virescens (F.) (tobacco budworm), an indigenous pest of the Americas, have been recently detected in agricultural produce and ornamental plants arriving in Europe. These interceptions prompted a pest risk assessment by the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization. For this report, we experimented with domestic overnight transportation of eggs, larvae, and pupae, which was similar to what may occur while transporting produce and ornamental plants from the Americas into Europe. At their destination, 24 hours later, they were kept at 22 °C or under sub-optimal temperatures (0 or 3±2 °C) for several days to simulate cold storage in a storage warehouse or a household refrigerator. Eggs that were maintained for 0 to 60 hours at 0 °C diminished their viability from ~75% to 0% in ~60 hours. Larvae maintained at 0 °C for more than 48 hours had 100% mortality. Transporting the eggs, larvae and pupae in empty cups by an overnight carrier (13-24 °C) had no effect on egg eclosion, larval survival, or adult emergence compared to samples from the same cohorts that were not transported. The eggs and larvae transported with an artificial insect diet had a higher rate of survival than the eggs and larvae transported without diet when kept at 22 °C at their destination. The number of moths that emerged from the transported C. virescens pupae did not differ from those that emerged from the non-transported pupae. Egg eclosion and larval survival were significantly affected when kept for more than 2 days (eggs) and more than 3 days (larvae) at 3±2 °C. These results suggest that A) storage at 0 °C is detrimental to the larvae, more so than for the eggs. B) Transportation does not affect the survival of C. virescens. C) Storage of the eggs and larvae at 3 °C is detrimental to this pest, depending on the number of days that they are refrigerated.