Status of <i>Spodoptera frugiperda</i> (JE Smith, 1797) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) as natural enemies of corn agrosystems in the central part of Benin Republic (West Africa)

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a voracious pest that primarily targets cereals and other economically important crops. Among these, maize, a staple crop, plays a central role in the food security of many African countries. Damage to corn causes significant losses to farmers, who turn to chemical inputs that are often harmful to humans and the environment. However, knowledge on natural control methods of this pest remains limited. This study aims to evaluate the occurrence of the pest and its local natural enemies in the central part of the Republic of Benin. Corn plants were sampled using the screening scheme of (McGrath et al. 2018). The level of damage caused by the pest was assessed using the foliar damage assessment scale of (Prasanna et al. 2018). The Chadian predator checklist and the identification keys proposed by Brindle and Waller were used to identify predators. The only parasitoid species encountered was identified using the Tachinadae identification keys. The collected data were subjected to the Shapiro-Wilk normality test followed by ANOVA for leaf damage. The results revealed a second-order significant difference at the 5% thresholdbetween the average numbers of maize plants attacked by S. frugiperda in localities with an incidence of leaf damage greater than or equal to 4. Among the natural enemies identified, only one parasitoid species was recorded, belonging to the Tachinidae family (14%). The majority of natural enemies were predators; with the most abundant being Coccinellidae (37%), Formicidae (29%), Pentatomidae (13%), Forficulidae (6%) and Thomisidae (1%). The results suggest a valorization of these natural enemies for sustainable management of the pest.