Generalist feeder

Spodoptera eridania (Lepidoptera Noctuidae) - the southern armyworm. This species was chosen for study because it is closely related to S. exigua, the beet armyworm, an insect which has periodically damaged fields of cultivated sunflower in the southern Great Plains (47). A laboratory colony of Sj, exigua could not be successfully maintained. Both S eridania and S. exigua are termed generalist feeders because they can feed on various organs of a variety of taxonomically-unrelated plants (48, 49). Experiments on S. eridania were performed in collaboration with Dr. K. Nakanishi s laboratory at Columbia University. 

An omnivore is any animal that is a generalist feeder, consuming a wide variety of foods that can include both animal and plant matter. Because they have attributes of both carnivores and herbivores, omnivores have relatively diverse linkages within ecological food webs. 

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