Influence of constant temperatures on life history of immature Lygus elisus (Hemiptera : Miridae)
Academic Article
Overview
Research
Identity
Additional Document Info
Other
View All
Overview
abstract
Life history characteristics of Lygus elisus Van Duzee were studied at 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35C in the laboratory. The egg incubation period, instar-specific nymphal development, survivorship, and longevity of L. elisus were influenced by temperature. Eggs did not hatch at 10C. For the five remaining selected temperature treatments, the incubation period was longest at 15C and decreased nonlinearly with an increase in temperature. Temperature influenced the developmental period differently for different instars, with the second stadium being the shortest at 10, 20, 25, and 30C, whereas first and third stadia were the shortest at 15 and 35C, respectively. The final stadium was longest across all six temperatures. The relationships between temperature and total durations were described by the same equation for both males and females. Total nymphal duration was not significant with sexes. Sex ratio (proportion of males) of emerging adults of L. elisus did not deviate from 1:1. Both instar-specific and total nymphal survivorship varied significantly with temperature. Total nymphal survivorship was highest at 15C and lowest at 10C. Adult longevity ranged from 16 (35C) to 122 d (15C), with a curvilinear response to temperature. Females survived 10 d longer than males at 20C, but survivorship of males and females was similar at other temperatures. These life history data will be useful in developing a computer model simulating L. elisus population dynamics in the field.
