Day-degree developmental requirements and lower temperature thresholds were determined in the laboratory for the immature lifestages and preoviposition periods of Chrysophtharta agricola, a pest of eucalypt plantations in Tasmania and Victoria. These data were used to provide a predictive model for C. agricola's spring-summer phenology under field conditions. The model was validated using field data from two Tasmanian field sites over three seasons. Lower temperature thresholds for immature development ranged from 2.8°C (Liv) to 10.3°C (Li), while the lower temperature threshold for oviposition was 7.4°C for teneral and overwintered adults. Total immature development time (egg-adult) was approximately 400 ± 16 DD above 8 ± 0.41°C. Development time did not differ between males and females, or between offspring of different females. Beetles reared at 25°C were significantly larger than those reared at low temperatures. Day-degree models were usually a good predictor of the appearance of developmental stages in the field.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Biological Sciences
Research Group:	Ecology
Research Field:	Population ecology
Objective Division:	Plant Production and Plant Primary Products
Objective Group:	Forestry
Objective Field:	Hardwood plantations
UTAS Author:	Nahrung, HF (Ms Helen Nahrung)
UTAS Author:	Allen, GR (Associate Professor Geoff Allen)
UTAS Author:	Patel, VS (Mr Vinu Patel)
ID Code:	26833
Year Published:	2004
Web of Science® Times Cited:	11
Deposited By:	Agricultural Science
Deposited On:	2004-08-01
Last Modified:	2011-09-23
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