African armyworm "S. exempta" larvae feed almost exclusively on Poaceae, also called Gramineae. Poaceae is a family of flowering grasses which includes cereal grasses and the grasses of grasslands and pastures. The species targets most cereal crops, including maize, sorghum, rice, millet, and other grasses. Young caterpillars are also known to feed on wheat and oat seedlings. The larvae eat the upper and lower surfaces of the plant tissue first, preferring to feed on younger and recently germinated crops. Studies have shown that two larvae can completely consume a 10-day-old maize plant with 6-7 leaves, indicating the devastating potential of a high-density
Waikavirus Waikavirus Waikavirus is a genus of viruses in the order Picornavirales, in the family Secoviridae. Plants, poaceae, cyperaceae, and gramineae serve as natural hosts. There are currently three species in this genus including the type species Rice tungro spherical virus. Diseases associated with this genus include: MCDV: plant stunting and chlorotic striping of tertiary leaf veins in maize. Group: ssRNA(+) Viruses in Waikavirus are non-enveloped, with icosahedral geometries, and T=pseudo3 symmetry. The diameter is around 30 nm. Genomes are linear, around 12kb in length. Viral replication is cytoplasmic. Entry into the host cell is achieved by penetration into the host