Life cycle and reproduction of Caliothrips phaseoli (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) on Fabaceae and Solanaceae (Plantae) in laboratory conditions

Abstract

The objectives of this study are to know the development time of each state and stage of Caliothrips phaseoli on Phaseolus vulgaris L. (Fabaceae), Cicer arietinum L. (Fabaceae), Nicotiana glauca Graham and N. tabacum L. (Solanaceae), the types of reproduction of these thrips and their index of masculinity. The study was conducted under the following ambient conditions: 25 ± 1 °C; 72 ± 6% relative humidity and 12h light/12h dark. For breeding, mature leaves of each plant were placed in dark glass bottles inside breeding cages. The development of each state and stage was inspected daily, counting also the number of individuals and the sex of emerged adults. It was found that N. glauca, P. vulgaris and N. tabacum are host plants of C. phaseoli. The pubescence density of C. arietinum limited the feeding and prevented C. phaseoli oviposition, therefore it could not represent an efficient host for these thrips. The average duration of the total cycle of C. phaseoli reached in the solanaceaes was higher in N. tabacum (20,6 days) and lower in N. glauca (16 days), while in the fabaceae (P. vulgaris) it reached an intermediate value (19 days). In N. tabacum and P. vulgaris it was the same since no significant differences were found between them. In all three plants, the state which needed more development time was the egg (6-8 days), followed by the larva II (4, 4.5 days), while the larva I and the quiescent states varied between 1.85 and 3.36 days. This species reproduces by amphigonia and parthenogenesis with exclusively male offspring in the latter case