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Life history of Oplostomus haroldi (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) under laboratory conditions and a description of its third instar larva

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2012

Ayuka T. Fombong ,
Fabian Haas ,
Paul N. Ndegwa  and
Lucy W. Irungu
Ayuka T. Fombong*
Affiliation:
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), PO Box 30772-00100, Nairobi, Kenya School of Biological Sciences, University of Nairobi, PO Box 30197-00100, Nairobi, Kenya
Fabian Haas
Affiliation:
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), PO Box 30772-00100, Nairobi, Kenya
Paul N. Ndegwa
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, University of Nairobi, PO Box 30197-00100, Nairobi, Kenya
Lucy W. Irungu
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, University of Nairobi, PO Box 30197-00100, Nairobi, Kenya
*
*E-mail: fayuka@icipe.org; fpalais@gmail.com
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Abstract

The life history of Oplostomus haroldi (Witte), a recently reported pest of honeybee colonies in East Africa, was studied for the first time under laboratory conditions. Adult O. haroldi collected from beehives in the coastal part of Kenya were reared on a mixture of moist sterilized soil and cow dung. At 25 ± 2 °C, 50 ± 5% relative humidity and a 10 h light-14 h dark photoperiod, the laid eggs took 11.9 ± 1.3 days to hatch into a curved pear-shaped scarabaeiform larva with a well-developed head and thoracic legs. The first, second and third larval instars lasted 14.6 ± 2.6, 17.5 ± 2.4 and 34.6 ± 2.4 days, respectively. The pupal stage, which was marked by formation of a mud cocoon, lasted 31.1 ± 6.7 days with the adults surviving for 2–6 months under laboratory conditions, suggesting that the beetle is multivoltine. A detailed taxonomic description of the external morphology of the third instar larva is provided.

Keywords

Oplostomus haroldilife historythird instar larvamorphologyhoneybeemultivoltine insectKenya
Type
Research Paper
Information
International Journal of Tropical Insect Science , Volume 32 , Issue 1 , March 2012 , pp. 56 - 63
Copyright
Copyright © ICIPE 2012

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