Temperature and relative humidity changes during mass production of Ephestia ku...

• Author(s): Tavares, João ; Ribeiro, Fernando ; Oliveira, Luísa ; Vieira, Virgílio
• Date: 1994
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.3/1577
• Origin: Repositório da Universidade dos Açores
• Subject(s): Adults Emergence; Life Cycle; Mass Production; Relative Humidity; Temperature; Ephestia kuehniella
• Document Type: Conference Object
• Language: English

Description

Resumo da comunicação apresentada no VI Congreso Ibérico de Entomología, XIII Jornadas de la AeE & VII Congreso de la Spen. Madrid, 26 -30 de Septiembre de 1994. This study was undertaken to determine the change of the temperature and relative humidity in the life cycle of Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lep., Pyralidae) under mass production conditions. A set of 24 cages, disposed over each other (2.5 cm apart) were introduced in a climate chamber (200 cm3), for 41 days. Each cage (6720 cm3 volume) had 10000 individuals during their pre-imaginal development. The climate chamber conditions were the following: 20.33 ± 1.2°C, 63.56 ± 8.7% RH and 16L:8D (the first 25 days) and 21.4 ± 0,9 °C, 70.5 ± 15% RH and 16L:8D (the next 16 days). All cages presented a considerable temperture increase, mainly between the 25th day and the adults emergence. The maximum change in teh termic amplitude (8°C), due to the insect, was observed in the set center cages. On the other hand, relative humidity decresed with temperture augmentation in each set, reaching 20% (center eages) and 10% (extreme cages). In a Biotecnological context, the consequences of temperature and relative humidity changes are discussed.