Biology and management of the masked chafer Cyclocephala distincta Burmeister (Melolonthidae, Dynastinae, Cyclocephalini)

• Autor(a) principal: Souza,Thamyrys B.
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Outros Autores: Maia,Artur C.D., Albuquerque,Cleide M.R., Iannuzzi,Luciana
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Revista brasileira de entomologia (Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0085-56262015000100037
• topic: Breeding; Life cycle; Rearing; Thanatosis

Adults of Cyclocephala distincta are flower visitors of Neotropical palms (Arecaceae) and commonly found in the Atlantic Forest of Pernambuco, Brazil. Males and females were collected in the wild and subjected to captive rearing and breeding. The egg hatching rate, the life cycle, longevity of immatures and adults, and oviposition parameters in captivity were analyzed. The average duration of the life cycle of C. distinctawas 108.2 days (n = 45). The egg stage lasted on average 10.9 days, and the egg-hatching rate was 73.9%. The immature stage lasted on average 93.4 days. The larvae stage exhibited negative phototaxis, and the size of their head capsules increased at a constant rate of 1.6 between instars, following Dyar's rule. The average duration of the first instar was 24.8 days (n = 88), whereas the second and third instars lasted for 17.2 (n = 76) and 40.4 (n = 74) days respectively, and survival rates were 21.6%, 86.4% and 97.4%. The pre-pupal stage was recorded, and pupal chambers were built before pupation. The average number of eggs laid per female was 15.5, the total reproductive period lasted for 3.3 days, and the total fertility was 81.2%. Adults that emerged in captivity exhibited an average longevity of 18.9 days. Adult C. distincta exhibited thanatosis behavior upon manipulation, a strategy observed for the first time in Cyclocephala.