Notas
Amendment of a typo: Spodoptera cosmioides vs. Spodoptera cosmiodes (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
Modificación de una errata: Spodoptera cosmioides vs. Spodoptera cosmiodes (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
Amendment of a typo: Spodoptera cosmioides vs. Spodoptera cosmiodes (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
Revista de la Sociedad Entomológica Argentina, vol. 81, núm. 3, 2022
Sociedad Entomológica Argentina
Recepción: 09 Marzo 2022
Aprobación: 24 Junio 2022
Abstract: The scientific name of the “black armyworm” (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) has historically been spelled in two different ways: S. cosmioides or S. cosmiodes, which could lead to errors and inaccuracies. Here we establish that the correct spelling is S. cosmioides, as originally written by the author, principally based on the absence of evidence that suggests that no error has been made in the original publication.
Keywords: Oruga militar del yuyo colorado, Pest, South America.
Resumen: El nombre científico de la “oruga militar del yuyo colorado” (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) se ha escrito históricamente de dos maneras diferentes, como S. cosmioides o S. cosmiodes, lo que podría dar lugar a errores e inexactitudes. En el presente trabajo se aclara que la ortografía correcta es S. cosmioides, tal como fue escrita originalmente por el autor, fundamentando principalmente en la ausencia de evidencia que sugiera que se haya cometido un error de cualquier tipo en la publicación original.
Palabras clave: América del Sur, Oruga militar del yuyo colorado, Plaga.
Spodoptera cosmioides (Walker), commonly known as the "black armyworm" or “oruga militar del yuyo colorado”, is a noctuid (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) of economic importance for many crops, mainly horticultural. It is a polyphagous species, cited on 126 host plants represented in 40 botanical families and with a marked preference for species of the families Asteraceae and Solanaceae. Larvae are defoliators, but can also feed on pods and grains. Its foliar consumption is 299 cm., this value being twice compared to other defoliating species that commonly occur in soybeans. The complete cycle under controlled conditions is 41 to 53 days and presents two to three generations (Navarro et al., 2009; Specht & Roque-Specht, 2016; Acosta-Parra, 2018).
The scientific name of this species has been written historically in two different ways, as S. cosmioides or S. cosmiodes with the latter being used in more recent works. This slightly different spelling could lead to errors and inaccuracies when working with the species, mainly when dealing with bibliographical resources. According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN, 1999) article 32.2 “The original spelling of a name is the "correct original spelling", unless it is demonstrably incorrect as provided in Article 32.5”. Walker (1858: 1678) described the species as Prodenia cosmioides (the genus Prodenia Guenée is considered a junior synonym of Spodoptera Guenée). As there is no evidence that indicates or unequivocally demonstrates that a spelling error was made in the original name of the species, the correct spelling for this species should be S. cosmioides. Furthermore, in another volume of the book series "List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum" Walker (1858: 1000) described another species with the same specific epithet, Gonitis cosmioides, which helps to substantiate that no mistake was made. The alternative is that the same mistake was made for two different species and in two separate publications without noticing the error or making corrections. Although Walker (1858) does not mention it, the name probably derives from the Greek kosmas (beautiful and orderly) and the Latin suffix -(o)ides (shaped like, similar to, looking like) (Díaz Rojo, 2001), due to its striking coloring.
The first work where the name of this species is spelled incorrectly is in Pogue’s (2002) World revision of the genus Spodoptera Guenée, considered the bible of the genus, who refers to it as S. cosmiodes [sic] throughout all his work, but at no time does he mention the reason for this change. Hence it could be assumed that it was a typo made by the author, rather than an amendment of some kind. Subsequently, the species name has been misspelled in a number of scientific works, possibly based on the aforementioned work.
References
Acosta-Parra, L.G. (2018) Morfología y biología de las especies del género Spodoptera Guenée (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) presentes en cultivos de soja (Glycine max) en el Noroeste Argentino. Tesis de Maestría en Entomología. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo, Tucumán, Argentina
Díaz Rojo, J.A. (2001) Nociones de neología. Los sufijos -oides, -oide, -oideo, -oidal y -oídico en terminología médica. Panace, 2(3), 67-70.
ICZN (International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature) (1999) International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Fourth Edition. The International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature, London, UK. https://code.iczn.org/ (Last accessed March 25, 2022)
Navarro, F.R., Saini, E.D., & Leiva, P.D. (2009) Clave pictórica de polillas de interés agrícola, agrupadas por relación de semejanza. INTA-EEA Pergamino, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Pogue, M.G. (2002) A world revision of the genus Spodoptera Guenée (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Memoirs of the American Entomological Society, 43, 1-202.
Specht, A., & Roque-Specht, V.F. (2016) Immature stages of Spodoptera cosmioides (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae): developmental parameters and host plants. Zoología (Curitiba), 33(4), e20160053.
Walker, F. (1858) List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum. Vol. 15. Edward Newman, London.
Notas de autor
gsanblas@exactas.unlpam.edu.ar