A new release of INSIM: A temperature-dependent model for insect development

摘要

For many practical purposes it is useful to predict the development rate of insects, for instance because not all stages of a pest insect are equally damaging crops. As insects are poikilothermous, their developmental rate is strongly influenced by temperature. In the literature the duration of the development of egg, larval and pupal stages of insects is mostly reported at constant temperatures. In an orchard or in crop fields however, fruit growers might like to predict when some stages of pest insect can be expected based on the current temperature. Measures to eradicate such a pest species can then be taken at the right time. Here, we present a new version of the age-structured insect simulation model INSIM that was originally developed by Diederik and Mols (1996). The model is re-implemented in MATLAB and can now simulate multiple seasons. It calculates the occurrence of insect stages during the year based on daily minimum and maximum temperatures. The model needs detailed information on sex ratio, relative mortality and developmental times at different temperatures. Furthermore, it is necessary to know the threshold value for the development, and the threshold value for the reproduction of adults. If more than one generation is simulated, similar information of reproductive capacity of adults is needed. The model can also take into account that there are individual differences in development time, resulting in a dispersion of stages. We describe the input tables for the program in detail and give the outcome for the western corn root borer Diahrotica virgifera vir-gifera.