The Latin name is Autographa gamma

Family - scoops (Noctuidae)

Culture - omnivorous pests

Order - lepidoptera (Lepidoptera)

Spread

Widespread in Ukraine everywhere.

Harmfulness

From field crops, it damages flax, hemp, beets, sunflower, potatoes, beans and legumes, corn, etc.

Appearance

Butterfly size 40-48 mm; forewings gray to purple-brown with a silver spot in the shape of the Greek letter "gamma". Egg 0.6 mm, hemispherical, with 36-38 radial ribs, watery-white with a greenish-yellow tint. The caterpillar of the last age is up to 40 mm, the color is greenish-yellow or green; the head is brownish-green with dark brown small spots and with dark sides, on the upper side along the entire body there are eight longitudinal light narrow stripes. Pupae 15-20 mm, dark brown, strongly elongated cremaster has a large bifurcated hook at the end with four smaller hooks. The pupa is inside a translucent web cocoon.

Development

The pupa hibernates in the soil. In the beet cutting zone of Ukraine, the flight of the first generation butterflies begins in mid-May. Unlike other scoops, gamma scoop butterflies fly during the day. Butterflies need nutrition from the nectar of flowers. Their fertility is quite variable. On average, a female lays 500 eggs, up to 1400 eggs at most. Summer drought causes sterility of second-generation butterflies. Gamma scoop lays from 1 to 6 eggs in one clutch on the underside of the leaves of weedy plants, as well as on the leaves of beets, flax, clover, sunflower, vetch, lupine, peas, potatoes and cabbage crops. Embryonic development at a relative humidity of at least 80% and a temperature of +20...+30°C is completed in 3-7 days. Caterpillars of the first and second instars are sedentary, but are able to release a silky thread and move downwards. When moving, the caterpillar of the gamma scoop bends like a loop. The development of caterpillars lasts 16-24 days, during which time they molt four times. Caterpillars of the summer generation pupate on leaves or between shoots on plants, where they have completed feeding and development. The pupal stage lasts 7-13 days, depending on weather conditions. The development cycle of one generation in summer is 26-44 days. In the steppe and forest-steppe zones of Ukraine, the sowka-gamma develops in two generations per year.

Protection measures

Destruction of weeds, loosening of the soil and between rows, frostbite, early sowing. Trichogram release twice for 100,000 individuals during mass egg laying with an interval of 6-12 days. When the number of caterpillars of the first generation is more than 5 individuals per 1 sq.m