摘要: The effects of 5 host plants(shallot, amaranth, cowpea,water spinach and flowering stem) on development and reproduction of beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua Hübner were studied under constant temperature(28±1℃). The results showed that there were significant differences on the development duration, survival rate, pupa weight, numbers of the eggs laid per female of the beet armyworm feeding on different host plants, in which the difference in the numbers of the eggs laid per female was the most remarkable. The highest number of female progeny was recorded on flowering stem, and then on shallot. The results also showed that host plants exerted significant influence on the activities of carboxylesterase and acetylcholinesterase in the beet armyworm, but the activities of the enzymes were not correlative significantly to the development duration, survival rate and numbers of the eggs laid per female. The host plants should be considered in the beet armyworm prediction and control.