Temperature influences the development, survival, and life history of Axinoscymnus apioides Kuznetsov & Ren (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), a predator of whitefly

Abstract

The current work was aimed at studying the biology of Axinoscymnus apioides Kuznetsov & Ren (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) under different temperature regimes. These studies were performed at 6 constant temperature regimes (17, 20, 23, 26, 29, and 32 °C) under laboratory conditions in which A. apioides was fed with Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) nymphs on Hibiscus rosa-sinensis plants. Results indicated that the developmental period for different immature stages decreased with increases in temperature from 17 to 29 °C. The developmental periods of first instar larvae and pupae decreased, while those of second, third, and fourth larval instars increased for the temperature regimes above 29 °C. The survival rates of different larval stages were almost stable at temperatures ranging between 20 and 32 °C. The highest fecundity of A. apioides females (307.80 eggs) was recorded at 23 °C. Based on these results, life tables of A. apioides were constructed for temperatures in the range of 17–29 °C. The innate capacity for increase (rm), the finite rate of increase (λ), and the reproductive rate (R0) reached maximum at 26 °C. The mean length of a generation (T) decreased with increasing temperatures. The lower development thresholds of A. apioides for the total preimaginal development was 9.21 °C, whereas the number of degree-days required for development from egg to adult emergence was 344.83 degree days. The results indicated that the optimal temperature range for A. apioides ranged between 23 and 26 °C.