Effect of Temperature on Biology of Citrus Leafminer, Phyllocnistis Citrella (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) Under Lab Conditions

Citrus leafminer, phyllocnistis citrella stainton, recently has become a serious pest in iran, especially in citrus nurseries. this study was aimed to assess the effect of temperature on the biological parameters of the p. citrella at three constant temperatures: 20, 27 and 35°c, 70±10% rh, photoperiod of 14: 10 (l: d) and on seedlings of citrus sinensis cultivar valencia as host. results showed significant reduction in incubation period from 6.22 at 20°c to 2.18 days at 35°c and adversely mortality increase from 7 to 21% at 20 and 35°c, respectively. larval period was 8.06, 5.26 and 4.14 days and pupal period was 11.18, 6.86 and 5.03 days at 20, 27 and 35°c, respectively. the highest mortality in both larval and pupal periods was observed at 35°c (11.4 and 15.8%, respectively). both females and males lived longer at 20°c (9.31 and 7.38 days) and shorter at 35°c (5.38 and 4.21 days, respectively). moth emergence rate was the highest at 27°c (female: 82.2% and male: 84.5%). the sex ratio for the offspring was 1:1.2, 1:1.4 and 1:1.3 male: female at 20, 27 and 35 °c, respectively.