Bioecology Of Cadra Cautella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) Under Abiotic Warehouse Conditions

This research began on December 2018 and ended December 2019, in which the monitoring and weekly review of 4 populations of Cadra cautella was conducted. This moth is able to feed from a wide range of different substrates, two sorts of substrate were designed: one based on raw food and the other consisting of a processed one, that is dried fruit and nuts and chocolate tablet and nougat with almonds. Cadra cautella can tolerate diverse ranges of temperature and humidity, we fixed the breeding conditions of this scientific experience. Two replicas of each substrate were built, it means four stock populations growing in parallel. The data collected was analyzed and it was observed that the populations of Cadra cautella growing on the
mixture of nuts have experienced a more vigorous development than those raised with chocolate and almonds, revealing that diet also affects the life cycle and the populations dynamics. Although the abiotic conditions of hours of light and darkness, temperature and relative humidity influence the life cycle by lengthening or shortening its duration and can affect egg hatching, population dynamics is also dependent on the type of food.