Ten novel microsatellite loci were isolated and characterized from the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exiqua. The isolated loci are polymorphic, with 2~12 alleles in 18 individuals from several populations in Korea. All 18 individuals had different multilocus genotypes with heterozygosity ranging from 0.089 to 0.843. Nine of 10 loci kept the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in adjusted significance thresholds. We report the development of microsatellite markers for S. exiqua potentially suitable for further studies of population structure, dispersal, and host relationship.

• Minyoung Kim(Entomology Program, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University)
• Hyojoong Kim(Division of EcoScience, Research Institute of EcoScience, Ewha Womans University)
• Seunghwan Lee(Entomology Program, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University)