Effects of alternating temperatures on development and reproduction of the armyworm,Mythimna separata (Walker)

Effects of cycling and constant temperature on development and reproduction of the armyworm, Mythimna separata (Walker) were investigated by rearing the insects on the artificial diet under temperatures covering low(16-24℃ vs. 20 ℃ ), medial(20-28℃ vs. 24℃ ) and high(24-32 ℃ vs. 28 ℃) regions. In the low region, all the immature stages of the insect developed significantly faster under alternating temperatures than at corresponding constant temperatures. For the medial region, their development was little affected by variable temperatures. For the high region, developmental durations tended to be longer under cycling temperatures except egg stage.Mean fecundities of the adult moths markedly increased under cycling temperatures as compared with those at respective constant temperature in all regions.Possible reasons for effect of alternating temperatures on insect development are discussed in some details.