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Biological Strategies of Dermestes maculatus DeGeer (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) at Larval Stages in Different Temperatures

  • Ecology, Behavior and Bionomics
  • Published:
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Abstract

The intraspecific variation in larval instars is a widely distributed phenomenon amongst holometabolous insects. Several factors can affect the number of instars, such as temperature, humidity, and density. Only a few references could be found in the literature because the invariability in the number of larval instars is considered normal, and the issue has raised little to no interest. Despite this, no study to date has intended to assess or focus on the larval development. Here, we analyzed the effect of different rearing temperature on the larval stage of Dermestes maculatus DeGeer (Coleoptera: Dermestidae). The results indicated that at all temperatures, L5 represented a decisive point for individuals as well as the other later larval instars, because the next step to follow was to pupate or molt to the next larval instar. Furthermore, there were mainly two populations, L5 and L6, although in different proportions according to temperature. We also found that at a greater number of instars, the larval development at all temperatures lasted longer. Moreover, the exponential model was the best adjustment in the developmental time of all populations as well as for the accumulated developmental time of L1–L4. Thus, we conclude that random factors such as genetics could probably cause interspecific variability in D. maculatus larval development.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Lic. Ricardo Camina from the Universidad Nacional del Sur for his statistical advice. This work was funded by grants from Universidad Nacional de Quilmes and Universidad Nacional del Sur. Noelia I. Zanetti thanks CONICET for her fellowship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Depto de Ciencia y Técnica, Lab de Entomología Aplicada y Forense, Univ Nacional de Quilmes, Roque Sáenz Peña 352, Bernal, 1876, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina

    N I Zanetti & N D Centeno

  2. Depto de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia, Cátedra de Parasitología Clínica, Univ Nacional del Sur, Bahía Blanca, 8000, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina

    N I Zanetti & E C Visciarelli

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  1. N I Zanetti
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  2. E C Visciarelli
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  3. N D Centeno
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Correspondence to N D Centeno.

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Edited by Regiane C Freitas Bueno – UNESP

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Zanetti, N.I., Visciarelli, E.C. & Centeno, N.D. Biological Strategies of Dermestes maculatus DeGeer (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) at Larval Stages in Different Temperatures. Neotrop Entomol 45, 652–657 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-016-0415-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-016-0415-9

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