Comparison of the reproductive potential of three Orius species, O-strigicollis, O-sauteri, and O-minutus (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae), using eggs of the Mediterranean flour moth as a food source

We examined the reproductive potential of three Orius (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae) species, O. strigicollis (Poppius), O. saitteri (Poppius) and O. minutus (Linnaeus), at different rearing temperatures (i.e., 17, 20, 23, 26, and 29 degrees C) using the eggs of the Mediterranean flour moth (Ephestia kitehniella Zeller) as a food source. Mean generation times of the three species were nearly the same at all temperatures. The net reproductive rate of O. minutus was higher than those of the other two species at 17, 20, 23, and 26 degrees C, and that of O. strigicollis was the highest among the three species at 29 degrees C. Interspecific differences of net reproductive rates were largest at 29 degrees C. Although the intrinsic rate of natural increase did not differ among the three species from 17 to 26 degrees C, the rate for O. strigicollis was far higher than that for O. saitteri and O. minutus at 29 degrees C. These results suggest that interspecific differences in the reproductive potentials of the three species tend to become larger as the temperature increases. Thus, we infer that O. strigicollis is advantageous in a wider temperature range than O. saitteri and O. minutus.