The influence of geographic distance on life-history traits of the carob moth, Ectomyelois ceratoniae (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

The carob moth, (Ectomyelois ceratoniae Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), is an important polyphagous and widely distributed pest of fruit trees in Iran and many other countries of the world. Intraspecific geographic variation is ubiquitous in many species. Geographic distance may lead to population diversity of each species which in turn affects the life history traits of each population. This study aims to investigate changes in the life table parameters of three Iranian populations of E. ceratoniae collected from Kerman, Yazd, and Arsanjan. The populations were treated in separate growth chambers under laboratory conditions on pistachio, (Pistacia vera L.) (Sapindale: Anacardiaceae) base-diet. Results showed that the intrinsic rate of increase (rm) ranged from a minimum of 0.076 (females/female/day) for Arsanjan population to a maximum of 0.094 (females/female/day) for Kerman population. The Kerman population obtained the highest net reproductive rate (122.34 females/female). These findings suggest that E. ceratoniae has better adaptation to habitat conditions of more annual sunny days, lower yearly rainfall, lower temperature, and lower relative humidity, yielding higher fecundity and fertility.