Effect of four host plants on nutritional performance of cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Effects of four vegetable host plants, artichoke, cabbage, potato and tomato on nutritional indices of the cotton leafworm spodoptera littoralis (boisduval) (lep.: noctuidae), were studied under laboratory conditions (25 ± 1 °c, 65 ± 5% rh, with a 16: 8 l: d photoperiod). fourth instar reared on tomato showed the highest approximate digestibility (ad) (90.406 ± 1.125%) and efficiency of conversion of ingested food (eci) (30.249 ± 4.128%). the highest values of efficiency of conversion of digested food (ecd) and eci of fifth instars (38.663 ± 4.34 and 20.083 ± 1.581%, respectively) were on artichoke and the lowest of both values on cabbage (ecd: 6.314 ± 1.128 and eci: 5.448 ± 1.052%).the 3^rd to 6^th instars as a whole showed the highest ecd and eci values on tomato (23.412 ± 2.252 and 19.845 ± 1.798%, respectively). however, the highest and lowest values of consumption index (ci) were on cabbage (33.943 ± 2.669) and tomato (6.145 ± 0.578). the highest values of relative consumption rate (rcr) and (ad) were obtained on cabbage (1.49 ± 0.109 mg/mg/day and 86.431 ± 1.141%, respectively). the results of nutritional indices and the cluster analysis indicate that tomato was nutritionally the most suitable food for s. littoralis.