## 4 Discussion  
Baculoviruses are insect pathogens that are occasionally developed as biopesticides to control plant pests, especially moth species [2]. There are now about 16 baculovirus-based biopesticides available for use or in development, most of which are applied against certain moth pests, like _C. pomonella_[30]. Notwithstanding the advantages, viral biopesticides account only for a small portion of the pesticide market, mostly because of the previously noted drawbacks (limited host range, slow killing). Remarkably, just four insect viruses have been approved by EU countries for commercial use as biopesticides [31]. Therefore, the ability to successfully overcome these obstacles through scientific research will determine whether or not insect viruses will be used continuously in the future. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Insect**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Virus**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Concentration** (ppm)**} & \multicolumn{3}{c}{**Mean Larval Weight (mg \(\pm\) sd)**} \\ \cline{3-6}  & & & **0 Days** & **2 Days** & **4 Days** & **6 Days** \\ \hline \multirow{6}{*}{HearNPV} & \multirow{6}{*}{CpGV} & 500 & 9.2 \(\pm\) 0.2 a & 9.1 \(\  
In this frame, commercial viral biopesticides were evaluated for the management of two common lepidopteran pests in the present study. This is the first time that HearNPV, CpGGV, and PoG have been tested as potential biological control agents against _T. pityocampa_. Also, for the first time, CpGGV and PoG were tested against _H. armigera_. During the last decade, many lab bioassays and field tests have been carried out, evaluating NPVs as biocontrol agents of lepidopteran pests with very promising results. NPVs have demonstrated effective insecticideidal action against many notorious moth species, like _H. armigera_[32], _Helicoverapa zea_ ([PERSON]) (Lepidoptera: Notuidae) [33], _Spodottera frugiperda_ ([PERSON]) (Lepidoptera: Notuidae) [34; 35; 36; 37], _Spodottera exigua_ ([PERSON]) (Lepidoptera: Notuidae) [38; 39], _Spodottera littoralis_ ([PERSON].) (Lepidoptera: Notuidae) [40; 41], and _Spodottera litura_ ([PERSON]) (Lepidoptera: Notuidae) [42; 43]. Specifically, _S. frugiperda_ that infested maize plants suffered more than 80% mortality when a formulated _S_/NPV strain from Colombia was applied [34], while an even higher control was achieved by mixing this NPV with Granulovirus (GPV) [35]. Moreover, three Mexican NPV isolates caused almost complete mortality (>98%) after 7 days on the same moth [2]. Another NPV caused 77.5% larval mortality within 5 days on _S. exigua_ and suppressed its feeding capacity [38]. In a recent similar study, an NPV was effective at killing young (1 st-3 rd instars) larvae of _H. armigera_, recording 99% mortality after 4-6 days, but the grown larvae (4 th-5 th instar) survived (35% mortality) [33]. Usually, infected larvae cease to gain weight after 24 h of viral infection. Healthy larvae will easily maximize their weight and size in a period of 3-4 days, while the infected larvae stop growing and start losing weight [7]. This happens because viruses are released into the host's alkaline midgut when the occlusion bodies dissolve in the stomach of lepidopterous larvae. The same pattern was found in the current study at the end of the experiment, given that the final larval weight was gradually decreased in both species due to viral treatments, reaching a reduction of 80% compared to the control in the highest dose and exposure time. This antifeedant effect of viral infection in moth larvae has been well documented for SpliMNPV on _S. littoralis_[44], for LoGV on the tomato moth _Lacanobia oleracea_ (Lepidoptera: Notuidae) [45], and for other moth pests [46; 47; 48; 49]. Similarly to our results, a 45% weight reduction was recorded on _S. litura_ larvae treated with a commercial virus suspension (Spodavax, SpltNPV) [46].