Nondestructive evaluation of egg-to-adult development and feeding behavior of the bamboo powderpost beetle Dinoderus minutus using X-ray computed tomography

Abstract

The life history and feeding biology of the bamboo powderpost beetle Dinoderus minutus remain poorly understood because the beetles’ oviposition, development, and feeding take place inside bamboo culms. In this study, X-ray computed tomography (CT) was employed to nondestructively quantify the progression of larval body size and tunnel size from the first instar to pupation. Eggs of D. minutus laid between laminates of nutrient-containing filter paper were easily collected. The newly hatched larvae were inoculated singly into pieces of internodes of madake (Phyllostachys bambusoides). The pieces were scanned using a microfocus X-ray CT system every 3–5 days to visualize the beetles’ bodies and tunnels with resolutions of 18–60 μm/voxel. CT scans were continued after adult eclosion to analyze pre-mating adult feeding. The collected eggs were 0.84 ± 0.06 mm (mean ± SD) in length and the egg duration lasted 5.0 ± 0.8 days. Based on CT images, the larvae grew to 3.53 ± 0.23 mm in body length and turned into pupae of 3.42 ± 0.09 mm. The larvae bored tunnels with a length of 80.2 ± 4.8 mm and a volume of 68.0 ± 7.0 mm3 over the larval period of 61 ± 11 days. Newly emerged adults remained in the bamboo pieces to feed before making exit holes in 8 ± 1 days after adult eclosion. During this period, they bored tunnels at rates of 2.64 ± 0.58 mm/day in length and 4.87 ± 1.10 mm3/day in volume.