Biological Studies on Potato Tuber Moth Phthorimaea operculella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) under Different Temperatures

Studies on the biology of potato tuber moth (ptm) phthorimaea operculella zeller reared in an indoor rearing room at 25 ± 2°c and 70 ± 5% rh revealed that the duration of egg, larval and pupal stages were 5.8 ± 1.3, 17.4 ± 1.9 and 10.6 ± 0.9 days, respectively. longevity of adults was 37.5 ± 11.2 and 18.2 ± 6.4 days for male and female, respectively. the pre-oviposition, oviposition and post-oviposition periods averaged 2.3 ± 0.5, 8.3 ± 4.0 and 5.8 ± 4.6 days, respectively. female fecundity was found to be 161.9 ± 48.8 eggs and the fertility was 91.9 ± 3.3%. the generation period lasted 34.0 ± 2.4 days under the same conditions. statistical analysis indicated that temperatures of 20, 25 and 30 ± 1°c had significant effects on the studied aspects of the biology of ptm studied viz. the pre-oviposition, oviposition and post-oviposition periods, longevity, fecundity and fertility (%). the duration of one generation was 52.0 ± 4.2, 35.2 ± 2.3 and 20.3 ± 0.5 days at 20, 25 and 30 ± 1°c, respectively, at the rh of 75%.