Supartha IW, Susila IW, Sunari AAAAS, Mahaputra IGF, Yudha IKW, Wiradana PA. 2021. Damage characteristics and distribution patterns of invasive pest, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on maize crop in Bali, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 22: 3378-3387. The Fall Armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a destructive crop pest native to North and South America which has now been reported to have spread to Indonesia. This study aims to ensure the attack and spread of invasive pests FAW on corn crops in Bali. In addition, it also studied population structure, age structure, and percentage of attacks on maize crops in high altitude areas in Bali, Indonesia. The research was conducted using survey methods. A sampling of plants is carried out in all districts and cities in the Province of Bali by diagonal sampling. The sample unit size is 5 m × 5 m with the number of plants observed being 150 plants. The score of plant damage at the age of 4 weeks after planting (WAP) plants has a "very heavy" attack intensity value. Areas of upper leaves or young leaves most affected by S. frugiperda attack in the field. The results showed that pest FAW has been entering and attacking maize crops in Bali since January 2020 as the first report. At the beginning of the entry was only found in some lowland locations, especially in Tabanan and Jembrana regency, but within the next 4 months, it has spread evenly in all districts and cities in Bali province. Adults populations and egg groups of FAW were found to peak by the time the corn crop was 2 weeks old after planting while the larval population reached its peak by the time the plant was 4 WAP The highest percentage of FAW attacks is in altitude areas below 250 meters above sea level (masl) with an average attack per observation plot of 47.84%. This research is the first to report on FAW attacks on maize crops in Bali Province since January 2020 and adds to our knowledge of FAW pests on maize crops in Bali Province.

Wahyuni S, Supartha IW, Ubaidillah R, Wijaya IN. 2017. Parasitoid community structure of leafminer Liriomyza spp. (Diptera: Agromyzidae) and the rate of parasitization on vegetable crops in Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 18: 593-600. Parasitoids such as leafminer have long been known to play an important role in reducing potential pest populations. However, detailed information about the parasitoid community in many agroecosystems is still very limited. To attempt to address this data gap, we assessed the rate of parasitism, diversity, abundance and dominance of leafminer parasitoids in different agroecosystems. The survey was carried out from February to July 2015 in Lesser Sunda islands of Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores and Timor. Samples were taken from three different vegetable ecosystem types the forest edge (H1), agricultural (H2) and settlement (H3). In each ecosystem, 50 leaves were sampled from 20 kinds of vegetable crops attacked by Liriomyza spp. Samples were taken five times per location every week. The sampling results found three distinct species of leafminer flies present: Liriomyza huidobrensis, L. sativae, and Chromatomyia horticola. The sampling also successfully identified 7 other parasitoids with parasitization rates between 0.09%-32.58% i.e. Neochrysocharis formosa (8.20%-32.58%), Hemiptarsenus varicornis (4.57%-24.21%), Opius chromatomyiae (0.88%-22.35%), Opius dissitus (0.49%- 5.08%), Neochrysocharis okazakii (0.69 %-1.24%), Asecodes deluchii (0.51%-5.89%) and Gronotoma micromorpha (0.09%-0.34%). Indices of abundance (R) and diversity (H') were also calculated, with the highest species abundance being found on the Lombok and the lowest on the Sumbawa. Neochrysocharis formosa abundance was found in all the islands sampled, while the dominance (D = 0.43) was found on the Sumbawa. N. formosa was found to have the highest population abundance and parasitism rate, and was found on every island in Lesser Sunda including on the Lombok (1853 adult; 31.16%), Sumbawa (472 adult; 8.2%), Flores (1117 adult; 15.96 %) and Timor (984 adult; 22.18%). The results of these studies suggest a strong need for effective pest control policies for Liriomyza spp. in the research locations, as well as for other vegetable crops in Indonesia

Supartha IW, Yudha IKW, Wiradana PA, Susila IW. 2020. Response of parasitoids to invasive pest Phenacoccus manihoti Matile-Ferrero (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) on cassava crop in Bali, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 21: 4543-4549. Phenacoccus manihoti Matile-Ferrero (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) is an invasive pest that entered Indonesia in 2010 and attacks cassava plants, especially in Bali Province. This study aimed to identify species and establish the population distribution mapping, community structures (diversity, abundance, and dominance), and parasitization rate on cassava crops in Bali. This study conducted with a field observation method by taking infested shoots of cassava plants by P. manihoti purposively in the field. The cassava mealybug that was present in the leaves or shoots were kept in the laboratory until the parasitoid appeared. The results showed that four species of parasitoids were found to respond to invasive pest, namely Anagyrus lopezi (Encyrtidae), Acerophagus sp. (Encyrtidae), Blepyrus sp. (Encyrtidae) and Encarsia sp. (Aphelinidae). Structurally the parasitoid community had a low abundance (R1 = 0.50–0.87) and low diversity index value (H'= 0.27-0.28). While the parasitoid dominance index was in the moderate category with a value D = 0.33–0.59 in Bangli, Klungkung, Badung, Tabanan, and Buleleng Districts. But it had high dominance index values in Gianyar, Denpasar, Jembrana, and Karangasem Districts with a value D = 0.62-0.72. The three species of parasitoid spread evenly in all districts and cities in Bali according to the host distribution map, namely P. manihoti on cassava crop. The four parasitoids showed varying parasitic levels in the field with the highest parasitization rate was A. lopezi followed by Acerophagus sp., Blepyrus sp., and Encarsia sp.

Yudha IKW, Supartha IW, Susila IW, Sudiarta P, Wijaya IN, Wiradana PA. 2024. New occurrence of corn and rice strains of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Bali and Lesser Sunda (Indonesia): Genetic diversity, distribution, and damage. Biodiversitas 25: 1890-1900. Spodoptera frugiperda is an invasive pest with rapid proliferation and is responsible for reducing corn productivity in several regions in Indonesia, including Bali and Lesser Sunda in Indonesia. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the geographic distribution, genetic diversity, and specific genes of S. frugiperda as well as assess its attacks in Bali and Lesser Sunda (NTB and NTT) regions. The study procedures were carried out using field surveys, followed by molecular identification to determine the genetic diversity of S. frugiperda with the COI locus. A total of 150 infected corn plants were sampled using the diagonal sampling method, with a unit size of 5 m × 5 m. The distribution data obtained were then analyzed using the QGIS application and SPSS 22 for statistical analysis. The geographic distribution results showed that S. frugiperda was evenly distributed in the provinces of Bali and Lesser Sunda, with the observation of 2 strains, namely corn and rice. Corn strain was more specifically found in the Karangasem, Flores, Lombok Highlands, and Timor areas, while rice strain occured in the Jembrana, Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores, and Lombok lowland areas. In addition, a total of 12 specific nucleotide bases from S. frugiperda gene were found in Bali, NTB, and NTT regions. The findings also showed that the haplotype network of Bali, NTB, and NTT populations was effectively isolated from other locations and was in the process of genetic divergence. The 3-year invasion of S. frugiperda in Indonesian territory was reported to have experienced a process of genetic population development. Lombok Island had the highest average plant damage at 54.63%, which was not significantly different from the value of Sumbawa, Bali, and Sumba at 47.79%, 42.65%, and 40.72%, respectively. On the other hand, the lowest plant damage level in Timor at 20.95%, followed by Flores (at 30.38%).

Yuliadhi KA, Supartha IW, Wijaya IN, Pudjianto, Nurmansyah A, Susila IW, Yudha IKW, Utama IWEK, Wiradana PA. 2021. Short communication: The preference and functional response of Sycanus aurantiacus (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae) on three prey types in laboratory conditions. Biodiversitas 22: 5662-5667. Sycanus aurantiacus Ishikawa et Okajima (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) is a valuable predatory insect that can be cultivated in biological pest control programs, particularly in vegetable crops. The research aimed to investigate the preferences and functional responses of the predator Sycanus aurantiacus to three different prey species in the laboratory conditions, included Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus), Crocidolomia pavonana (Fabricius), and Tenebrio molitor (Linnaeus). The preference experiment was carried out by monitoring the prey on which S. aurantiacus preyed the most. The functional responsiveness of S. aurantiacus was determined by measuring the time it took to detect and prey on various kinds of prey, as well as the number of prey that were successfully preyed upon when the quantity of prey was increased. The predatory S. aurantiacus preferred P. xylostella over C. pavonana and T. molitor. S. aurantiacus functional response to three kinds of prey, including type II, is shown. In P. xylostella, the instantaneous prey search rate (a) was 0.2/hour, with a handling time (Th) of 1 hour 40 minutes/prey, which was quicker than the other two kinds of prey. As a result of our findings, the predator S. aurantiacus can be maintained in the lab and has the potential to be developed as an efficient biocontrol agent, particularly against the cabbage leaf caterpillar P. xylostella.