Abstract
The development and morphology of the immature stages were examined by means of dissections, linear measurements, light and scanning electron microscopy of the egg, the larval instars and the puparium.
The measurements were of body lengths and widths and the lengths of the cephalopharyngeal skeleton. Observations on the morphology of the immature stages concentrated on the surface structure of the egg, the head capsule, the anterior and posterior spiracles, the ventral plate and the cephalopharyngeal skeleton of the different larval instars.
Development and survival of larvae at different growth stages of the sorghum plant were investigated in the laboratory. Survival and rate of larval development were dependent on the size of the host plant. Survival was usually highest when plants about 2 weeks old were infected, low in very young plants and lowest in plants more than 50 days old. Within groups of insects hatched from eggs laid on the same day, the occurrence of various larval instars overlapped. The first instar was found from the 2nd to the 8th day after egg-laying, the second instar from the 4th to the 12th day, and the third instar from the 5th to the 18th day. Pupation started on the 14th day and adults started to emerge on the 21st day.
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Ogwaro, K., Kokwaro, E.D. Development and Morphology of the Immature Stages of the Sorghum Shootfly, Atherigona Soccata Rondani. Int J Trop Insect Sci 1, 365–372 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742758400000680
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742758400000680