Influence of Temperature on the Growth, Development and Reproduction of Menochilus sexmaculates

The influence of temperature on the growth, development and reproduction of Menochilus sexmaculates was studied to explore the optimal temperature for artificial rearing of the ladybug. The results showed that the growth and development rate of the ladybug increased significantlyand the development period was shortened along with temperature rising from 17℃ to 32℃. The development rate dropped slowly when the temperature was over 32℃, and thedevelopment phase was ℃. The development threshold and the effective accumulated temperatures of the whole life cycle of M. sexmaculates was calculated by the linear regression method as 8.29℃ and 294.12 daydegrees respectively. The corresponding two data of the whole life cycle of this ladybug was calculated by the direct optimal method to be 8.36℃ and 288.80 daydegrees respectively. The development rate of the egg stage, each instars larvae stage and the pupa stage of M. sexmaculates were simulated by both the Linear Day Degree model and the Logistic model. The results showed that both of these two models could well reflect the growth and development rate of each stage of M. sexmaculates.