Temperature-Mediated Growth Thresholds of Acrobasis vaccinii (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Degree-day models link ambient temperature to the development of insects, making such models valuable tools in integrated pest management. These models increase management efficacy by quantifying and predicting pest phenology. In Wisconsin, the top insect pest of cranberry production is the cranberry fruitworm, Acrobasis vaccinii Riley (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Control of this species is often complicated by the fact that the larvae feed entirely within the fruit. Timing of control tactics, therefore, is critical and generally targets the adult and egg stages. However, the commencement of oviposition and egg hatch are extremely difficult to track empirically, forcing pest management strategies to rely on proxy events that are more apparent but less informative as indicators of cranberry fruitworm egg presence. This research provides the upper and lower temperature-mediated growth thresholds of this pest, which represents the first steps toward the creation of a degree-day model. Using field-collected A. vaccinii, we reared the larvae within cranberry fruit and monitored larval growth at nine different constant temperatures. We determined the average growth rate at each temperature and modeled growth rates as a function of temperature. We then calculated the precise upper and lower developmental temperature thresholds of this species. Future work will be able to use these thresholds to generate degree-day accumulations that correspond to phenological events in the field, providing a powerful predictive tool for pest management in cranberry production.