Abstract
Acanthoplus speisen Brancsik, a pest of grain crops in Zambia, was reared in the laboratory at different temperatures. Mean development times of the eggs, nymphs and adults were determined at the different temperatures and used to develop a thermal unit model for use by farmers to predict the appearance dates of the different nymphal instars and the adults in the field in a given season. The predictions generated by the developed model for the 1990/1991 season, were compared to the actual dates on which the first specimen of each developmental stage was collected in the field during the season. The predicted dates of appearance all fell within 1 week of the observed dates of collection. Reasons for the slight deviations between the predicted and observed dates and the significance of the developed thermal unit model to the future control of A. speisen in Zambia, are discussed.
Résumé
Acanthoplus speiseri Brancsik, un insecte nuisible aux plantes productrises de grains en Zambie, était éleve dans le laboratoire sous des temperatures differentes. La durée moyenne de development des oeufs, des nymphes et des adultes était détermine pour chaque temperature et était employé pour trouver un modèle de system thermal qui peut être utilisé par les fermiers pour predire les dates d’apparition des stages différentes des nymphes et des adultes dans le champs durant une saison specifique. Les prédictions faites à partir du modèle lorsque celui-ci était appliqué à la saison 1990/1991, étaient comparée avec les dates actuelles de la saison durant losquelle les premiers specimens de chaque stage de development étaient ramassés dans le champs. Toutes les dates prédites d’apparition tombérent dans les limites d’une semaine au-delà des dates actuelles de collection. Les raisons probablés pour expliquer la petite différence entre les dates prédites et les dates actuelles de collection et l’importance du modéle trouvé dans le contrôle future de A. speiseri en Zambie, sout considerées.
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Mbata, K.J. A Thermal Unit Model for the Development of Acanthoplus Speiseri Brancsik (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Hetrodinae). Int J Trop Insect Sci 14, 355–360 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742758400014855
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742758400014855