Life tables and a physiologically based model application to Corcyra cephalonica (Stainton) populations

Abstract

The rice moth Corcyra cephalonica is a harmful insect pest for grains stocked in storage systems. Its infestations represent a serious concern among producers, because of the non-marketability of the products affected by it and subsequent economic losses. New technologies are improving the supply chain of the stored grains, in line with the integrated pest management framework. However, a prompt control action also requires an in-depth knowledge of insect pests' biology and their response to environmental parameters. If this information is available, it can also be translated into mathematical language. The modelling of insect pest populations is increasing in utility, particularly if the models are included in decision support systems. The aim of this work concerns two aspects of a model application and validation. Since physiologically based models require information about interactions between species and environment, C. cephalonica individuals were reared at different constant temperatures: 18, 21, 24, 26, 28, 30, 34 and 36 °. This first part provided the life tables, whose data were used to estimate the parameters of the Logan, Briére, and Sharpe and De Michele development rate functions. The second part of the work concerns the application of a physiologically based model described by a first order partial differential equation. The validation of the simulations was conducted with a semi-field experimentation with three repetitions. Results showed that the life tables are well represented by the Sharpe and De Michele development rate function, and that the physiologically based model proposed is reliable in representing field populations.

Life tables in entomology: A discussion on tables’ parameters and the importance of raw data

“…In order to define and explain the problem, let us consider the concrete case of a cohort of eggs developing at fixed constant temperatures. In particular, we consider the development of the eggs of the rice moth Corcyra cephalonica (Stainton) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), whose life tables data have been published by Rossini et al [ 32 ] not accounting for reproduction, and for which the raw dataset is available at https://github.com/lucaros1190/DatasetCorcyra-cephalonica . The life cycle of this species is composed of an egg stage, six larval instars, a pupa stage, and adult males and females [ 33 , 34 ].…”

“…Based on the guidelines usually accepted in the literature [ 4 ], the experiment of Rossini et al [ 32 ] was carried out as follows: i) cohorts of eggs provided by a continuous rearing of the species were placed in thermal-controlled growth chambers at different constant temperatures, and ii) the development of each individual has been followed for the whole life cycle [ 5 ]. The temperatures explored were 18, 21, 24, 26, 28, 30, 34, and 36°C.…”

Modelling ectotherms’ populations considering physiological age structure and spatial motion: A novel approach

“…The main reason behind is that the measurements of environmental parameters and insect populations are usually discrete, due to limitations on the technologies used and given the high costs of field surveys. Accordingly, a discrete approach is a more natural way to model the system rather than an a posteriori discretization of continuous models when applied to the practical cases, as in [50,51,7,52,53,54,22,55].…”

A general ODE-based model to describe the physiological age structure of ectotherms: Description and application to Drosophila suzukii

“…Simulations and field data can be compared following the procedure already discussed in other works such as [69,28,70,71,72,73] and combine the use of the χ 2 function and of the coefficient of determination R 2 . Notably, the χ 2 function is used as indicator of the distance among the n points of the simulated and field populations.…”