2005 Volume 40 Issue 2 Pages 247-255
We examined the reproductive potential of three Orius (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae) species, O. strigicollis (Poppius), O. sauteri (Poppius) and O. minutus (Linnaeus), at different rearing temperatures (i.e., 17, 20, 23, 26, and 29°C) using the eggs of the Mediterranean flour moth (Ephestia kuehniella Zeller) as a food source. Mean generation times of the three species were nearly the same at all temperatures. The net reproductive rate of O. minutus was higher than those of the other two species at 17, 20, 23, and 26°C, and that of O. strigicollis was the highest among the three species at 29°C. Interspecific differences of net reproductive rates were largest at 29°C. Although the intrinsic rate of natural increase did not differ among the three species from 17 to 26°C, the rate for O. strigicollis was far higher than that for O. sauteri and O. minutus at 29°C. These results suggest that interspecific differences in the reproductive potentials of the three species tend to become larger as the temperature increases. Thus, we infer that O. strigicollis is advantageous in a wider temperature range than O. sauteri and O. minutus.
