A model of Cadra cautella larval growth and developmentt

Previous experimental work has shown that in the stored-products moth Cadra cautella, larval survival as well as age and weight at pupation are dependent on the density (larvae g-1 food) at which larvae are reared. (2) A mathematical model was developed to describe larval growth and development. Important features of the model are that: (a) the model considers the growth and development of males and females separately; (b) larval food ingestion rate is inversely related to the amount of larval biomass per unit of food; and (c) larval development indices are a function of larval age and weight. (3) The model provides a good description of total food consumption, larval survival, and larval age and weight at pupation for those larval densities where food exhaustion does not occur. Although the model captures the broad effects, it overestimates the impact of food exhaustion on larval growth and development. Coprophagy and cannibalism, factors not included in the model, account for the model's departures from the observed data when food exhaustion occurs