Thermal Requirements and Development of <I>Herpetogramma phaeopteralis</I> (Lepidoptera: Crambidae: Spilomelinae)

Abstract

The tropical sod webworm, Herpetogramma phaeopteralis Guenée is a major turfgrass pest in the southeastern United States. We evaluated larval development on five artificial diets and at six temperatures (15, 20, 25, 30, 32.5, 35 +/- 1 degree C) on St. Augustinegrass (Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walter) Kuntze). Only larvae fed St. Augustinegrass and soy-wheat germ diets completed their lifecycles. None of the artificial diets tested (corn-based, soy-wheat germ, corn cob-wheat germ, corn cob-soy flour, or pinto bean) were suitable for rearing this species, because of high mortality and slower developmental time. Total developmental time (oviposition to adult) on S. secundatum significantly decreased from 47.8 d at 20 degrees C to 21.1 d at 30 degrees C, and then increased to 32.6 d at 32.5 degrees C. Tropical sod webworm failed to complete larval development at 15 and 35 degrees C. The relationship between temperature and developmental rate was described using linear (common and polynomial) and nonlinear models (Briere-1, Briere-2, and Lactin-2). The estimated lower temperature thresholds using a linear model for eggs, first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth instars, prepupa, pupa, and total development were 10.1, 6.9, 12.3, 10.5, 15.3, 13.9, 9.1, 13.1, 12.0, and 13.1 degrees C, and the thermal constant of these stages were 62.9, 66.2, 38.2, 40.3, 24.9, 32.3, 51.9, 106.4, 109.9, and 370.4 degree-days, respectively. The Briere-1 model provided the best fit with estimated lower, upper, and optimum thresholds for total development of 14.9, 34.3, and 29.4 degrees C, respectively. The developmental requirements of H. phaeopteralis can be used to help predict the distribution and seasonal phenology of this pest.

Thermal requirements, development and number of generations of Duponchelia fovealis (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)

“…Therefore, in this study the linear model presented better adjustment for K and T 0 , while the nonlinear models estimated T opt and T L . Linear models complement information from nonlinear models and vice versa, since linear models rarely estimate T opt and T L , whereas nonlinear models do not always accurately estimate K e T 0 (Koda and Nakamura 2012, Roltsch et al 1990, Tofangsazi et al 2012.…”

“…Among species of the Crambidae family there seems to be no climate-related preference pattern. For example, Palpita nigropunctalis (Bremer) showed a base temperature of 6.8 °C (Gotoh et al 2011), Neoleucinodes elegantalis (Guenée) 8.8 °C (Moraes and Foerster 2015) and Herpetogramma phaeopteralis (Guenée) 13.1 °C (Tofangsazi et al 2012), indicating that Crambidae family is widely distributed among different latitudes.…”

“…Other biological characteristics of the insects also respond better to a certain temperature range. For instance, depending on the species, the survival and fecundity may increase at temperature ranges from 22 to 30 °C (Bavaresco et al 2002, Martins et al 2016, Tofangsazi et al 2012. Therefore, research on the influence of temperature and thermal requirements on the biological parameters of pest insects is very crucial in the understanding of pest behavior, ecology and management (Kang et al 2009).…”

The influence of diet on the duration and thermal sensitivity of development in the linden bug Pyrrhocoris apterusL. (Heteroptera: Pyrrhocoridae)

“…those reducing survivorship and fecundity) often result in slower development and smaller body size. Examples include species of pentatomid and anthocorid bugs (Goryshin et al, 1988;Mahdian et al, 2006;Bonte et al, 2012), ground beetles of the genus Amara (Saska & Honȇk, 2003;Saska, 2005;Sasakawa, 2007) and other hemi-and holometabolus insects (Idowu & Sonde, 2003;Khattak et al, 2004;Syed et al, 2008;Tofangsazi et al, 2012). These consequences of malnutrition arise quite frequently as a result of insufficient protein content in food.…”

Efficacy of commercial formulations of entomopathogenic nematodes against tropical sod webworm, Herpetogramma phaeopteralis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)

“…After mating, females deposit clusters of 6–15 eggs on the grass blades and the eggs hatch in 4 days at 25°C (Tofangsazi et al. ). Fifth and sixth instar H. phaeopteralis are the most harmful as the larvae chew whole sections of leaf and produce silk along the grass blades (Kerr ).…”