On interference among larvae of the greasy cutworm, Agrotis ypsilon rott . (lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Summary The greasy cut worm, Agrotis ypsilon Rott. , has a characteristic habit; the larva feeds on the small seedling of the host plant. Studies in a population in outbreak area suggested that the food shortage temporally took place, causing the reduction of weights of pupae and adults. The fact that this species depends on the small seedling as the host seemed to be responsible for this food shortage. However, it was found that the larval crowding also affected the body weight, even if the food was supplied in excess. It was further suggested that the weight reduction is due to the injury caused by the encounter of larvae. The oviposition habit to lay small egg masses and the aggressive behaviour of the larva was considered to be responsible for the uniform distribution at the later larval stage. Probably, the larval dispersion enabled the larva to forage in the most effective way as well as it protected the larva from the attack of another ones. As a result, this would enable the maximum number of individuals to survive. It seemed that the functions noted above did not work in the population being under outbreak condition, because the larval density was unusually high due to mass‐invasion of moths.