From a descriptive toward an explicative growth-based model on immature Oulema duftschmidi (Coleoptera : Chrysomelidae) development at different temperatures

The developmental rates of Oulema duftschmidi (Redtenbacher) eggs, larvae, and pupae were studied at different constant temperatures. A linear regression model was fitted to the data obtained in this and in a previous study within a temperature range where the rate proportionally increases with temperature. Ratios of SEs to the mean thermal constant and to the mean developmental threshold indicated that reliable estimates have been obtained for the three life stages. Within the framework provided by the metabolic theory of ecology, a growth-based model was evaluated to explain developmental rates in the entire temperature range permissive of development of the three life stages. The model is based on component functions describing growth patterns through time, temperature-dependent consumption rates of biomass, transformation of consumed food into body biomass change, and respiration rates with respect to temperature. Experimental data were used for the selection and validation of models and for the estimation of the parameters of different regression models. Limitations and opportunities for using the growth-based model to explain developmental rates are discussed. An empirical function was used to describe the variability of developmental rates.