Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T22:55:01.906Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Development and larval diapause in the southern African dung beetle Onitis caffer Boheman (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Penelope B. Edwards
Penelope B. Edwards
Affiliation:
CSIRO Dung Beetle Research Unit, Pretoria, South Africa
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The development of Onitis caffer Boheman in cattle dung was studied in the laboratory. The larvae feed on the dung in which the eggs are laid. Egg to adult development at 25°C was completed in 24·7 weeks by a strain from a winter rainfall (WR) area of South Africa and 29·4 weeks by a strain from a summer rainfall (SR) area, and occurred without diapause. Maximum larval dry weight was achieved mid-way through the third larval instar, after which the larva emptied much of its gut to form a protective faecal shell, in which pupation occurred. At 20°C, 20% of WR larvae developed without diapause and the adults emerged after 33·5 weeks, whereas the remaining 80% of adults emerged after 80·1 weeks. In the SR strain, 70% emerged after 37·1 weeks without having entered diapause, while the remaining 30% emerged after 83·8 weeks. Thus, the period of diapause for both strains was 47 weeks and occurred in the third larval instar. At 15°C, 74% of WR larvae had pupated by 153 weeks, with a mean development time of 121·8 weeks. Zero development temperatures were 10·4°C (WR) and 10·1°C (SR), and day-degree requirements for development without diapause at 20°C were 2251 (WR) and 2571 (SR).

Type
Original Articles
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 76 , Issue 1 , March 1986 , pp. 109 - 117
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Denlinger, D. L. (1974). Diapause potential in tropical flesh flies.—Nature, Lond. 252, 223–224.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fujiyama, S. (1983). The larval diapause of three scarabaeid beetles and its function in their life cycles.—pp. 55–66 in Brown, V. K. & Hodek, I. (Eds.). Diapause and life cycle strategies in insects.—283 pp. The Hague, Junk.Google Scholar
Klemperer, H. G. (1981). Nest construction and larval behaviour of Bubas bison (L.) and Bubas bubalus (Ol.) (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae).—Ecol. Entomol. 6, 23–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klemperer, H. G. (1982). Normal and atypical nesting behaviour of Copris lunaris (L.): comparison with related species (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae).—Ecol. Entomol. 7, 69–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schneiderman, H. A. & Horwitz, J. (1958). The induction and termination of facultative diapause in the chalcid wasps Mormoniella vitripennis (Walker) and Tritneptis klugii (Ratzeburg).—J. exp. Biol. 35, 520–551.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, W. P. (1960). Notes on a preliminary investigation into the habits and life cycle of Copris incertus Say (Coprini: Coleoptera) in New Zealand.—N.Z. Jl Sci. 3, 8–14.Google Scholar
Tyndale-Biscoe, M., Wallace, M. M. H. & Walker, J. M. (1981). An ecological study of an Australian dung beetle, Onthophagus granulatus Boheman (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), using physiological age-grading techniques.—Bull. ent. Res. 71, 137–152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waterhouse, D. F. (1974). The biological control of dung.—Scient. Am. 230, 101–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wightman, J. A. (1974). Influence of low temperature on pupation induction in Costelytra zealandica (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae).—N.Z. J. Zool. 1, 503–507.CrossRefGoogle Scholar