Effect of some diets on demographic parameters of Ectomyelois ceratoniae (Zeller) (Lepidoptera:Pyralidae) in vitro

The carob moth, Ectomyelois ceratoniae (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), is a cosmopolitan species widely distributed in different habitats worldwide. This moth is a well known pest of many fruits as well as dried fruits in storage. In this study, the biological parameters of the carob moth were studied in a growth chamber under controlled conditions (30±2°C, 65±5% and 16L : 8D). The studied moths were on four diets including pistachio, and pomegranate (both are referred to as the natural diets), and semi-synthetic, and synthetic food. The results demonstrated that survival rate of the carob moth on the two natural diets was higher than the survival rate of the carob moth on the semi-synthetic, and synthetic diets (also referred to as the artificial diets). The highest and lowest amount of life expectancy (ex) were obtained for moths on the pistachio diet (38.82), and the pomegranate diet (29.32), respectively. The highest age-stage specific reproductive value (vxj) was observed for moths on the pistachio diet (181.1). The intrinsic rate of increase (r) and finite rate of increase (λ) were calculated to be highest when the pomegranate diet was used (0.091 and 1.096) and lowest when the synthetic diet was used (0.06) and (1.062). The highest amounts of net reproductive rate and mean fecundity were obtained for moths fed the pistachio diet and the lowest were for moths fed the synthetic diet. Our results also showed that the mean generation times were 48.32, 44.42, 37.19, and 42 days for moths fed synthetic food, pistachio, pomegranate, and semi-synthetic food, respectively. The outcome of this research can be used to effectively select the most useful rearing of carob moths for using them in natural pheromone traps as Integrated Pest Management programs.