Occurrence of natural enemies of fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Nigeria.

Fall armyworm (FAW; Spodoptera frugiperda), an exotic moth which recently invaded Africa, is a highly destructive pest of cereals especially maize a highly valued staple crop in Nigeria. The use of natural enemies such as predators or parasitoids for FAW control is more economically viable and environmentally safer than currently recommended synthetic insecticides. Natural enemies to combat the pest have not yet been reported in Nigeria.

A highly-simplified and inexpensive MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry sample-preparation method with broad applicability to microorganisms, plants, and insects.

Matrix-assisted laser-desorption and ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry prepares proteins intact in the gas phase with predominantly a single positive charge. The times-of-flight of charged proteins along a tube held at high vacuum after acceleration in an electrical field are proportional to the square root of the mass-over-charge ratios for the proteins, thereby allowing a mass spectrum to be generated, which can then be used to characterize or identify a protein-containing sample. Several sample-preparation methods are currently available but not all of these are applicable to some forms of fungal biomass and few of these are well suited to the analysis of plant or insect material.