Comparison of developmental and reproductive biology in wing diphenic Anaphothrips obscurus (Thysanoptera: Thripidae)

• Life history traits of wing dimorphic Anaphothrips obscurus were compared.
• Longer developmental time of pre-adult was shown in macropterous A. obscucus.
• Shorter ATOP and TPOP were found in brachypterous A. obscucus.
• Early fecundity was higher in brachypterous A. obscucus.

Anaphothrips obscurus (Müller) is a cosmopolitan pest feeding on cereal crops and grasses. This species exhibits wing polyphenism. Differences in the life history traits of female macropterous and brachypterous A. obscurus were compared in the laboratory for this study. Experiments were performed in climate chambers set at 20 and 25 ± 1 °C, 60 ± 10% RH under a 16 L:8D photoperiod. The duration of total pre-adult stage, adult pre-oviposition period and total pre-oviposition period of macropterous morphs were significantly longer than in the brachypterous morphs both at 20 and 25 °C. No significant differences were found in adult longevity, survival rate or total fecundity between the two wing morphs, while early fecundity was significantly higher for brachypterous females compared with that for macropterous females at two temperatures.

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