Impact of Metarhizium rileyi infected larvae on cannibalism behavior in
Spodoptera frugiperda

A laboratory experiment was undertaken during 2021-22 and 2022-23 to assess the impact of entomopathogen, Metarhizium rileyi
infected larvae on cannibalism behavior in Spodoptera frugiperda. It helps to study how this behavior will affect cannibalism. M.
rileyi is a signi

icant contributor to natural epizootics, causing mortality among S. frugiperda larvae. Upon analyzing the combined
data, it became evident that varying degrees of cannibalism were observed among different instar healthy larvae of S. frugiperda.
Furthermore, when interactions occurred between healthy and diseased larvae of different instars, the instances of cannibalism
escalated. Notably, a pronounced increase in cannibalism was noted in smaller healthy larvae when exposed to larger diseased
larvae, in contrast to cannibalism rates between larvae of the same age. This phenomenon also had an impact on the biological
characteristics and pupal weight of the cannibalistic individuals.