title: Population growth and development of the psocid Liposcelis brunnea (Psocoptera: Liposcelididae) at constant temperatures and relative humidities.
abstract: We studied the effects of temperature and relative humidity on population growth and development of the psocid Liposcelis brunnea Motschulsky. L. brunnea did not survive at 43% RH, but populations increased from 22.5 to 32.5 degrees C and 55-75% RH. Interestingly, we found population growth was higher at 63% RH than at 75% RH, and the greatest population growth was recorded at 32.5 degrees C and 63% RH. At 35 degrees C, L. brunnea nymphal survivorship was 33%, and populations declined or barely grew. L. brunnea males have two to four nymphal instars, and the percentages of males with two, three, and four instars were 13, 82, and 5%, respectively. Female L. brunnea have three to five instars, and the percentages of females with three, four, and five instars were 18, 78, and 4%, respectively. The life cycle was shorter for males than females. We developed temperature-dependent development equations for male and female eggs, individual nymphal, combined nymphal, and combined immature stages and nymphal survivorship. The ability of L. brunnea to multiply rather rapidly at 55% RH may allow it to thrive under conditions of low relative humidity where other Liposcelis species may not. These data give us a better understanding of L. brunnea population dynamics and can be used to help develop effective management strategies for this psocid.
authors.affiliation: USDA-ARS, Grain Marketing and Production Research Center, 1515 College Ave., Manhattan, KS 66502-2736, USA. george.opit@okstate.edu
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Opit
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Throne
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006813:Humidity; D007313:Insecta / Q000254:growth & development*; D007615:Kansas; D008018:Life Cycle Stages / Q000502:physiology*; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D011157:Population Dynamics; D013696:Temperature