Journal of Pest Science (2014) 87, 495-506

Arianne Fabres, Janaina de Campos Macedo da Silva, Kátia V.S. Fernandes, José Xavier-Filho, Gustavo Lazzaro Rezende and Antonia Elenir Amancio Oliveira (2014)
Comparative performance of the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) on different plant diets
Journal of Pest Science 87 (3), 495-506
Abstract: Tribolium castaneum is a pest of stored foods that causes serious economic losses. Understanding insect nutritional requirements and the effects of different diets on insect development can provide tools for developing strategies to control insect and integrated pest management systems. In this work we studied the performance of the T. castaneum on different plant diets composed of Vigna unguiculata, Phaseolus vulgaris and wheat flours. The diets interfered differentially with development and insect survival. Larvae size was reduced about 60% in larvae fed with V. unguiculata flour. A delay in pupae formation was also observed. The larval mortality of 100% was observed in the P. vulgaris diet. Carbohydrate and triglyceride showed variations during development and with different diets. Larvae fed with wheat diets showed a high concentration of carbohydrates 21days after hatching (DAH) and triglyceride at 15 and 21 DAH. Larvae fed with wheat diets showed Æ´¿-amylase activity during development. At 15 DAH the activity of larvae fed with V. unguiculata increased about 50%. Cysteine protease activity in larvae fed with wheat remained high throughout development. Serine protease activity also varied according to diets. These results show that the nutritional state of developing larvae varies greatly with respect to triglycerides, carbohydrate and digestive enzymes depending on the diet and larval stage. Altogether, these results show that changes in dietary nutrients can interfere with insect physiology. Therefore changes in diet composition that may deprive insects of essential nutrients or include toxic compounds might be a good control strategy for stored product pests.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution
control - general

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Tribolium castaneum