Impact of Temperature on the Growth and Development of Athetis dissimilis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Athetis dissimilis (Hampson) has emerged as a serious pest on corn in recent years in China. Understanding the population response of A. dissimilis to temperature will be beneficial for adopting control strategies for this pest. The impact of five constant temperatures (17, 21, 25, 29, and 33 degrees C) on the life table of A. dissimilis was studied using age-stage, two-sex life table method in the laboratory. The results showed that the developmental time of egg, larva, pupa, and adult decreased when temperature increased from 17 degrees C to 33 degrees C. The TPOP (total preoviposition period) decreased with temperature increasing from 17 degrees C to 29 degrees C, while the longest APOP (adult preoviposition period) occurred at 21 degrees C (3.57d) and the shortest at 33 degrees C (2.15d). The fecundity increased from 407.52 to 763.94 eggs as temperatures were raised from 17 to 25 degrees C, but decreased at temperatures from 25 degrees C to 33 degrees C.The intrinsic rate of increase (r), finite rate of increase (lambda), and net reproductive rate (R-0) increased as temperatures increased from 17 to 25 degrees C, then decreased when temperatures exceeded 25 degrees C. In contrast, the mean generation time (T) decreased as temperatures increased from 17 to 33 degrees C. Based on the estimated data, the highest female age-stage-specific fecundity (f(x)) and age-specific fecundity (m(x)) were 81.91 and 45.04 eggs, respectively, at 25 degrees C. The age-stage life expectancy (e(xj)) of all stages decreased as the temperature increased. The reproductive value (v(xj)) increased gradually with age and stage. The developmental rates of A. dissimilis between 17 to 29 degrees C fit the linear equation y = + 0.01315+0.001303x, with a coefficient of determination (R-2) of 0.9314. In conclusion, our finding clearly states that A. dissimilis has the greatest population increase at 25 degrees C and this may help develop appropriate pest management strategies.