Sunflower Budworm

The sunflower budworm or bud moth (Suleima helianthana Riley), considered a minor pest of the sunflower in which damage is sporadic, also feeds on the Jerusalem artichoke (Pedraza-Martinez, 1990 Rogers, 1979). In North America, the insect is found from Maryland to California and south to Mexico. Damage is caused by larval feeding, typically on the apical bud or axils of upper leaves, producing distorted, misshapen plants. Young larvae act as leaf miners or enter a leaf rib, while older larvae enter and feed on buds, leaf axils, stems, and bracts. 

Biology and Chemistry of Jerusalem Artichoke Helianthus tuberosus L. 

Banded sunflower moth [Lepidoptera Tortricidae] Cochylis hospes Walsingham 

Cotton leafworm [Lepidoptera Noctuidae] Spodoptera littoralis Boisduval 

Leafworm [Lepidoptera Noctuidae] Gortyna xanthemes Germar 

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Sunflower budworm [Lepidoptera Olethreutidae] Suleima helianthana Riley... 

Homeosoma electellum) contain high concentrations of tra-chyloban-19-oic acid (70) and ( —)-16-kauren-19-oic acid (71) in their florets. As sunflower florets that contain only small amounts of these compounds are a major portion of the diet of first instar larvae of this insect, it is likely that these acids serve as feeding inhibitors. At the 1% level, both kaurenoic and trachylobanoic acids decreased the growth of sunflower moth larvae and tobacco budworm (Heliothis virescens) by about 50%. At the 0.5% level, both reduced larval growth of the cotton bollworm and the pink bollworm to less than 5% (Fig. 22.23) (Mabry and Gill, 1979). The Z-and -isomers of (- )-ozic acid (72) have been isolated from Helianthus occidentalis and may be associated with resistance to insect attack (Stipanovic et al., 1979). 

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