Development of the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner) (Lepidoptera; Pyralidae) on Japanese rice cracker (kaki-no-tane) and fried peanut

Abstract

We investigated the larval development of the Indian meal moth Plodia interpunctella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) (Hübner) at 28°C, 70％ RH, and 16L 8D on a Japanese rice cracker (kaki-no-tane), fried peanuts, and brown rice. Kaki-no-tane is commonly coated with a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and chili. The developmental period on whole kaki-no-tane was 77 days, and the emergence rate was 2.8％ (n＝35). On crushed kaki-no-tane, the mean developmental period was 52.2 days and the emergence rate was 11.4％ (n＝35). The mean developmental period was 38.2 days on fried peanuts and 36.5 days on a mixture of fried peanuts and kaki-no-tane; the respective emergence rates were 46.6％ and 63.3％ (n＝30). Larvae reared on the mixture preferred the fried peanut. The developmental period on brown rice was 28.5 days, and the emergence rate was 86.6％ (n＝30).