Identifying patterns and drivers of movement of the lesser mealworm Alphitobius diaperinus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)
Date
2023
Authors
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Alphitobius diaperinus is a ubiquitous pest of poultry houses found worldwide. They live in the litter of commercial poultry houses, especially broiler chicken houses. In high numbers they reduce poultry feed efficiency, cause stress and injury to birds, act as a reservoir for poultry diseases, and cause damage to structures and insulation in the house. Distribution and patterns of movement of A. diaperinus within broiler houses has been documented, but the specific environmental cues and behavioral drivers that govern those patterns are not well understood. I conducted a series of behavioral assays to evaluate the response of A. diaperinus to several wavelengths of light and the presence of water. I found that A. diaperinus adults and larvae are repelled by several wavelengths of light, but burrowing behavior is not connected to this response to light. I also found that A. diaperinus is repelled by water when in a normal, hydrated state, but is attracted to water when dehydrated, and this attraction is stronger than the repulsion from light. On a broader scale, A. diaperinus is believed to originate in Africa as a nest associate of several bird species, however the historical pattern of dispersal across the world is not known. As a preliminary survey to assess the viability of genetic tools to illuminate these historical patterns I sampled broiler house populations of A. diaperinus from several farms in the Eastern United States and Europe and sequenced the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene. I analyzed the diversity of this gene between houses, farms, states, and nations, and found that broiler house A. diaperinus populations are very homogenous at the cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene.
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Keywords
Poultry houses, Alphitobius diaperinus, Hygrotaxis, Phototaxis, Broiler chicken houses