The development of cotton bollworm (H. armigera) fed with different host foods was investigated. Higher values for pupal weight and eggs per female were recorded for the cotton bollworms fed with pea and soyabean leaves, compared with those fed with aubergine fruit and groundnut leaf. The rate larval development was highest with pea leaf, followed by maize fruits, and lowest for cotton leaf, flower, bud and boll. Based on values of the index of population trend, the preference of the cotton bollworm to different host foods were as follows: pea > soyabean > maize > Chinese sorghum > cotton > groundnut > aubergine. The results of a study of the dynamics of the cotton bollworm population in a cotton field in China are presented.
