Insect Macro Photography for science and education – by Hans Smid
The Beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua
The caterpillars of this moth are important pest insects. Below you see three pictures where the caterpillar is infected with a baculo virus, which kills the caterpillar. The virus is used as a biological control method. See the video below for more information. The 4th picture is a healthy caterpillar
This movie shows a time lapse of a caterpillar, Spodoptera exigua, the Beet armyworm. The virus has manipulated the caterpillar, which shows the so-called tree top disease: it migrates to the top of a plant on which it is feeding. There, the virus will liquify the body of the caterpillar, thereby increasing the spread of the virus particles to infect new caterpillars. This video was produced to support a review publication: Gasque, S. N., van Oers, M. M., & Ros, V. I. D. (2019). Where the baculoviruses lead, the caterpillars follow: baculovirus-induced alterations in caterpillar behaviour. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 33, 30–36.
