Inheritance of Carbaryl Resistance and Microsomal Oxidases in the Fall Armyworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

A strain of the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), collected from cornfields in Cainesville, FL, developed high levels of resistance to carbaryl. Resistance was inherited as a single, incompletely dominant, autosomal gene. The resistance was associated with increased microsomal oxidase activities. Aldrin epoxidase and biphenyl hydroxylase activities were inherited in an intermediate or dominant manner in the two reciprocal F1 progeny, indicating the important role of these detoxification enzymes in carbaryl resistance.