抄録
The life history of the dermestid beetle, Thaumaglossa rufocapillata, in summer has been unknown, although adults are seen in spring and autumn, and the larvae of the over wintering generation are found in overwintering egg cases of praying mantises. Hatched egg cases of the two mantises, Tenodera aridifolia and T. angustipennis, were collected in southern Osaka in the summer of 1993 and 1994, and activities of the dermestid were observed. Adults emerged from August to October in 1993 and 1994. These individuals were considered to be the 1st generation. The temporal pattern of emergence was similar between the two mantis species. The mean number of adults emerging from an egg case, which ranged from 5.5 to 9.1, did not differ significantly between the two mantis species in the two years. The sex ratio in emerging adults was not biased from 1:1. The adult dermestids of the 1st generation emerged from 56.3% of hatched egg cases in T. aridifolia and 70.0% in T. angustipennis in 1993, and the rates were 65.0 and 70.0%, respectively, in 1994. The rates of the 1st generation were much higher than those of the overwintering one. The bethylid wasp, Laelius sp., was observed for the first time to parasitize the dermestid larvae.
