Thermal biology of Tuta absoluta: demographic parameters and facultative diapause
The South American tomato pinworm, Tuta absoluta , (SATP) is now a devastating pest worldwide of crops in the family Solanaceae. Most prior studies of SATP’s thermal biology were based on populations from tropical regions, and proved unsuitable for explaining its invasion of large areas of the Palearctic. A more holistic approach to the analysis of its thermal biology is essential background for developing models to assess its invasive potential. Our studies found that SATP has lower and upper thermal thresholds (θ L = 5.37 °C and θ U = 35.69 °C, respectively) than South American populations used in prior studies (θ L = 7.38 °C and θ U = 33.82 °C). Age-specific life tables were used to estimate the effects of temperature on its demographic parameters. Diapause in SATP had not been characterized prior to our study. We found facultative diapause in pupae developing from larvae exposed to relatively low temperatures (i.e., 2 and 5 °C) and short-day length for different exposure period...