The biology of Anthrenus sarnicus Mroczkowski (Coleoptera: Dermestidae)—II. Pupal and adult stages

Abstract

The pupal and quiescent adult periods of Anthrenus sarnicus Mroczkowski decreased with rise in temperature and ranged from 37-9 and 17-5 days respectively over the temperature range 15–30°C. Humidity over the range 20–90% r.h. had no significant effect on development times. In unfed beetles adult longevity was significantly affected by temperature over the range 15–30°C with females tending to live longer than males. Successful oviposition occurred at all constant temperatures tested. The optimum was 20°C where the mean fecundity was 52 eggs/female, and the least favourable, 30°C, where the mean fecundity was 23 eggs/female. The following adult diets were used to test the effects of adult feeding on adult longevity, fecundity and oviposition cycle at 20°C, 65% r.h.: unfed, water, water + albumen, water + pollen, sugar solution, sugar + albumen and sugar + pollen. Provision of adult diet only significantly increased longevity when the diet included both sugar and protein. The highest recorded mean longevity for mated males and females was 54 and 82 days respectively for beetles on a diet of sugar + pollen. Unmated females lived considerably longer than their mated counterparts. In mated and unmated females the pre-oviposition period varied from 4 to 20 days and 19 to 30 days respectively. Only diets including sugar and protein significantly increased lifetime fecundity of mated females above that of unfed beetles. The maximum recorded lifetime egg output for a single mated female was 132 on sugar + pollen. Oviposition on all diets tended to be cyclical with peak oviposition occurring early in adult life, between days 5 and 6 and, apart from the unfed treatment, with two further peaks between days 10–12 and 14–16. Egg hatch was unaffected by adult diet.