Abstract

Cutworm pest complex (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) varies globally in terms of regional dominance, crops attacked and feeding behaviour. In the Pampean region, extensive extensions of farming lands are affected by at least five cutworm species belonging to the genus Agrotis, Feltia and Peridroma. Due to the competitive environment that exposes these insects to stressors, certain individual features such as morphology could provide useful insights about functional diversity related to its dispersion and dominance. In this study, we analyze whether the shape of the mandibles is a contrasting trait between seven cutworm species, and we discuss whether this morphological trait can be an influential factor in the abundance and predominance of species within the complex between the southern and northern part of the Pampean region. Using geometric morphometrics tools, the results evidenced that cutworms complex differs in this functional trait. Closer phylogenetically species of Agrotis were widely different between them, while species phylogenetically distant belonging to Feltia and Peridroma were lightly similar. These results showed that functional traits have a fundamental importance to develop a predictive framework linking the herbivory damage with the herbivore functional diversity. (C) 2019 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.