Comparison of monoclonal antibody and laboratory rearing techniques to identify heliothentinae (Lepidoptera : Noctuidae) eggs from Mississippi cottonfields

Laboratory rearing and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were us ed to identify tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens (F), and bollworm, Heli coverpa ten (Boddie), eggs collected from cotton fields in Mississippi. Ide ntification of eggs by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was consis tent with that by laboratory rearing. Significant relationships were detect ed between percentage eggs identified by rearing and by ELISA for II. vires cens (R-2 = 0.87) and for H. zea (R-2 = 0.89). Percentage of H. virescens o r H. tea detected in the field in pheromone traps was consistent with those detected using rearing and ELISA in late July but different from those in late August. This study shows that the monoclonal antibody-based ELISA prov ides a reliable, simple, and convenient way to determine the proportion of H. virescens and H. tea eggs collected from cotton fields.