STUDIES ONFACTORS AFFECTING BEHAVIOR, ECOLOGY, AND REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS OF THE INDIANMEAL MOTH, PLODIA INTERPUNCTELLA (HÜBNER) (LEPIDOPTERA: PYRALIDAE) By KISHANRAO SAMBARAJU Master of Science (Agriculture) West Texas A&M University Canyon, Texas 2003 Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College of the Oklahoma State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY July, 2007 STUDIES ONFACTORS AFFECTING BEHAVIOR, ECOLOGY, AND REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS OF THE INDIANMEAL MOTH, PLODIA INTERPUNCTELLA (HÜBNER) (LEPIDOPTERA: PYRALIDAE) Dissertation Approved: Thomas W. Phillips Dissertation Adviser Kristopher L. Giles Committee Member Jack W. Dillwith Committee Member Mark E. Payton Committee Member A. Gordon Emslie Dean of the Graduate College ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my wife, Madhavi Dhulipala, for all her support during my dissertation research. Her encouragement and strong belief in my abilities greatly helped me in completing my research. I thank all my family members, especially my mother Satyavathi Chilukuri, for their constant support and blessings. I sincerely thank my dissertation advisor, Dr. Tom Phillips for providing me financial support throughout my Ph. D. program, for his expert scientific advice, and for his time spent on reviewing my dissertation. I am grateful to my committee members, Dr. Kristopher Giles, Dr. Jack Dillwith, and Dr. Mark Payton for their suggestions and comments. My special appreciation for Dr. Mark Payton for his valuable suggestions regarding data analysis. I am grateful to the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology for providing me an opportunity to serve as a teaching assistant, which was a very good learning experience, during spring 2007. My sincere appreciation to the office personnel in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology including Gerry Smith, Diana Ward, and Michelle Kuehn for their help in official paper work and travel arrangements during annual entomology meetings. My sincere gratitude to our laboratory manager, Edmond Bonjour, for purchasing supplies and efficiently supervising insect requirements for my research. I am thankful to iii Randy Beeby for his help during conduct of my experiments at the Stored Product Research and Extension Center in Stillwater. I would like to thank my friends and colleagues Mukti Ghimire, Dr. Rizana Mahroof, Paul Morton, Barrett Robertson, and Andrew Puckette for their company in our laboratory. Finally, I am very grateful to the United States Department of Agriculture for providing funding for my dissertation research under Risk Avoidance and Mitigation Program (RAMP). iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………….…1 Grain Storage: A Brief History and Current Statistics.......................................2 Damage Caused by Arthropod Pests to Stored Grain........................................2 Arthropod Diversity in a Stored Grain Ecosystem ...........................................3 Distribution and Description of P. interpunctella ..............................................4 Copulation Behavior of P. interpunctella ..........................................................5 Host Finding and Oviposition Behavior of P. interpunctella ............................7 Immature Development of P. interpunctella...................................................11 Population Control Strategies for P. interpunctella ..……...............................13 Physical Control………...........…………………………………….…….13 Biorational Control…...........………………………………….....………15 Biological Control.....................................................................................16 Chemical Control.......................................................................................17 Rationale and Justification...............................................................................19 Research Objectives.........................................................................................20 Manuscripts for Publication………………………………………………….20 References Cited..............................................................................................22 II. EFFECT OF PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL FACTORS ONOVIPOSITION BY THE INDIANMEAL MOTH, PLODIA INTERPUNCTELLA (H ÜBNER) (LEPIDOPTERA: PYRALIDAE)...................................................................31 Abstract............................................................................................................33 Key Words.................................................................................................33 Materials and Methods.....................................................................................35 Insects........................................................................................................35 Artificial Substrates...................................................................................35 Wheat Extracts...........................................................................................36 General Bioassay Procedure......................................................................36 Experiment 1a and 1b. Effect of Substrate Physical and Chemical Stimuli on P. interpunctella Oviposition...................................................37 Experiment 2. Effect of Different Textures of Artificial Substrates on P. interpunctella Oviposition...............................................................38 Experiment 3. Effect of Substrate Number on P. interpunctella Oviposition................................................................................................38 v Chapter Page Experiment 4. Effect of Substrate Size on P. interpunctella Oviposition.................................................................................................39 Experiment 5. Effect of Different-Sized Substrates Offering the Same Total Surface Area for P. interpunctella Oviposition................................39 Experiment 6. Effect of Substrate Shape on P. interpunctella Oviposition................................................................................................ 39 Statistical Analysis...........................................................................................40 Results..............................................................................................................40 Experiment 1a and 1b. Effect of Substrate Physical and Chemical Stimuli on P. interpunctella Oviposition...................................................40 Experiment 2. Effect of Different Textures of Artificial Substrates on P. interpunctella Oviposition................................................................41 Experiment 3. Effect of Substrate Number on P. interpunctella Oviposition.................................................................................................41 Experiment 4. Effect of Substrate Size on P. interpunctella Oviposition.................................................................................................42 Experiment 5. Effect of substrate size relative to constant surface area on P. interpunctella oviposition.................................................................42 Experiment 6. Effect of Substrate Shape on P. interpunctella Oviposition.................................................................................................43 Discussion........................................................................................................43 Acknowledgments............................................................................................48 References Cited..............................................................................................49 III. OVIPOSITIONAL PREFERENCES AND LARVAL PERFORMANCES OF TWO POPULATIONS OF INDIANMEAL MOTH, PLODIA INTERPUNCTELLA (HÜBNER) (LEPIDOPTERA: PYRALIDAE).............61 Abstract............................................................................................................63 Key Words.................................................................................................64 Materials and Methods.....................................................................................67 Laboratory Insects.....................................................................................67 Field Moths................................................................................................68 Diets...........................................................................................................68 Larval Performance Study.........................................................................69 Oviposition Preferences for Different Diets..............................................70 No Choice Studies......................................................................................70 Four Choice Studies...................................................................................71 Statistical Analysis..........................................................................................72 Results.............................................................................................................73 Larval Survivability...................................................................................73 Development Time.....................................................................................73 Adult Weight..............................................................................................74 No Choice Oviposition Bioassays.............................................................75