Rearing the cranberry girdler Chrysoteuchia topiaria (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) on reed canary grass Phalaris arundinacea (Festucoideae: Panicoideae)

Authors

  • Sheila M. Fitzpatrick Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre PO Box 1000, 6947 Highway 7 Agassiz, BC V0M 1A0
  • Janis A. Newhouse Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre PO Box 1000, 6947 Highway 7 Agassiz, BC V0M 1A0
  • James T. Troubridge Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre PO Box 1000, 6947 Highway 7 Agassiz, BC V0M 1A0
  • Karen A. Weitemeyer Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre PO Box 1000, 6947 Highway 7 Agassiz, BC V0M 1A0

Abstract

We report a method of rearing cranberry girdler Chrysoteuchia topiaria (Zeller), a pyralid that is a serious pest of cranberry Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton. Fertile eggs from field-caught females were scattered on reed canary grass Phalaris arundinacea L. planted in greenhouse flats (50 eggs/flat) kept under fluorescent lights at 16L:8D and temperatures of 22-30°C (day): 19-24°C (night). Under these conditions, survival from egg to adult was 28%. Progeny of these adults entered diapause after exposure to low light (ca. 0.5 lux) as larvae. Diapause was broken by placing insects in the dark at 4.5-5.5°C for ca. 3 months, but survival was very poor (8% from egg to adult).

Key words: laboratory colony; laboratory rearing; turfgrass; Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton; integrated pest management; subterranean webworm; sod webworm; diapause

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