Age-specific fecundity tables and growth rate of the leaf miner, Aproaerema modicella Deventer (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) on groundnut during different seasons in Andhra Pradesh (India)

Age-specific fecundity and growth rate studies of Aproaerema modicella Deventer were conducted during two seasons, viz., kharif 1991 and rabi 1992. Preoviposition period, oviposition period and female longevity were 24 hours, 11 days and 13 days, respectively in all the generations. The net reproductive rate (Ro), the capacity for increase ‘r’, the intrinsic rate of natural increase (r_m), the finite rate of increase (λ), and weekly rate of multiplication were highest at maximum temperature 31.9°C with 64.16 mm rainfall and decreased at 32.7°C maximum temperature and 258.30 mm rainfall in kharif season. The decrease in growth rate of population in rabi despite high temperatures and no rainfall was attributed to the increased per cent parasitization, i.e., 60 to 70 per cent. The approximate generation time was shortest (25.2895 days) in September 1991 and longest (26.4199 days) during April 1992. The values of ‘r’ and ‘r_m’ were so small and the small difference explained that the population of A. modicella on groundnut tending towards overlapping generations.