Enrichment of diverse seedbased artificial diets with date palm pollen affects the fitness and physiological responses of Spodoptera littoralis - Research article summary

Sep 30, 2026

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Artificial diets incorporating plant-derived components can improve insect nutrition and lower rearing costs. This study evaluated five seed-based diets enriched with date palm pollen for Spodoptera littoralis by measuring ecological parameters, food utilization, enzymatic activities, and dietary biochemical composition. Diets D1 (cowpea) and D4 (mung bean) strongly increased fitness traits such as oviposition period, adult longevity, net reproductive rate, intrinsic rate of increase, and finite rate of increase. D4 and D5 improved larval growth and utilization efficiency, while enzyme assays showed elevated amylolytic and proteolytic activities and antioxidant responses.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Artificial diets and noctuid rearing needs

Plant-derived ingredients and pollen

Study rationale

Materials and methods

Diet design and treatment groups

Results

Fitness and life-table effects

Food utilization and larval growth

Enzymatic and antioxidant activities

Biochemical composition interpretation

Discussion and conclusion

[www. nature.com/scientificreports](www. nature.com/scientificreports) OPEN Enrichment of diverse seedbased artificial diets with date palm pollen affects the fitness and physiological responses of Spodoptera littoralis (Boisduval, 1833) Seyed Ali Hemmati1􀀍, Zahra Arab Yabarati1 & Lukasz L. Stelinski2 Artificial diets incorporating plant-derived components can improve nutrition and reduce costs in insect rearing. This study evaluated five seed-based diets enriched with date palm pollen for Spodoptera littoralis (Boisduval, 1833) by examining ecological parameters, food utilization, enzymatic activities, and plant biochemical composition. Diets (D1–D5) combined date palm pollen with cowpea (D1), chickpea (D2), beet (D3), mung bean (D4), or maize (D5) seed powders. Diets D1 and D4 significantly enhanced key fitness traits, including oviposition period, adult longevity, net reproductive rate (R0), intrinsic rate of increase (r), and finite rate of increase (λ) . Diets D4 and D5 improved food utilization efficiency and larval growth rate (RGR) . Enzymatic analyses showed elevated amylolytic and proteolytic activities with D4 and D5, while D3 triggered the highest antioxidant enzyme activity, likely aiding detoxification of beet seed phenolics. Overall, D1 and D4 were the most effective diets for S. littoralis rearing, demonstrating promise for mass production applications. Keywords Spodoptera littoralis, Life table parameters, Antioxidants, Food utilization indices, Digestive enzymes, Biochemicals The Egyptian cottonworm, Spodoptera littoralis (Boisduval, 1833), is a destructive noctuid pest with a steadily expanding distribution across numerous countries worldwide1. Its highly polyphagous nature enables it to infest a broad spectrum of crops, including industrial, ornamental, and vegetable species such as maize, cotton, cabbage, tobacco, tomato, potato, artichoke, strawberry, bean, chickpea, cowpea, and mungbean1–3. The larvae are aggressive foliar feeders, and as they mature, their feeding activity intensifies—leading to the formation of large holes or complete defoliation of photosynthetic tissues. Beyond leaf damage, they also cause considerable injury to the buds, fruits, and seeds of their host plants1,3. Various noctuid species have been successfully reared on artificial diets for multiple research and applied purposes, including laboratory bioassays, sterile insect technique (SIT) programs using gamma- or X-ray– irradiated males, baculovirus production, insecticide resistance monitoring, and the mass rearing of natural enemies4–8. The use of artificial diets is often driven by the seasonal unavailability of host plants, fluctuations in their nutritional quality due to factors such as plant age, genotype, and environmental conditions, and the need to ensure the year-round availability of high-quality insects9. To meet these challenges, a wide range of artificial diets—particularly those incorporating plant-derived ingredients—have been developed for the consistent rearing and colony maintenance of noctuid species. For example, Ashok et al.4 formulated six artificial diets for Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) using flour from common bean, maize, and chickpea, along with rice and maize leaf powder. Their study concluded that the combination of rice leaf powder and chickpea seed flour yielded the most suitable diet for laboratory rearing. 1Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, P.O. Box 61357- 43311, Ahvaz, Iran. 2Department of Entomology and Nematology, Citrus Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Lake Alfred, FL 33850, USA. 􀀍 email: [sa.hemmati@scu.ac.ir](sa.hemmati@scu.ac.ir) [www. nature.com/scientificreports/](www. nature.com/scientificreports/) Similarly, Truzi et al.7 tested three diets with varying protein levels, based on beans, brewer’s yeast, and wheat germ, and found that protein content did not negatively affect population

FAQs

What diets were compared in the study for Spodoptera littoralis?

Five seed-based artificial diets were tested (D1–D5), each combining date palm pollen with different seed powders: cowpea (D1), chickpea (D2), beet (D3), mung bean (D4), or maize (D5).

Which diets improved the fitness traits most strongly?

Diets D1 and D4 significantly enhanced key fitness traits, including oviposition period, adult longevity, net reproductive rate (R0), intrinsic rate of increase (r), and finite rate of increase (λ).

How did the diets affect enzyme activities and antioxidant responses?

Enzyme analyses showed elevated amylolytic and proteolytic activities with D4 and D5, while D3 produced the highest antioxidant enzyme activity, which may support detoxification of beet seed phenolics.

Sep 30, 2026

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