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Abstract
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Rhyncaphytoptus ficifoliae Keifer (Trombidiformes; Diptilomiopidae) is one of the important pests of fig trees
that is widely distributed in fig orchards located in south-western Iran. The effect of six ambient temperatures
(17, 20, 25, 30, 33 and 36°C) on life table parameters of R. ficifoliae was studied under laboratory conditions at
60±5% relative humidity and a photoperiod of 16: 8 h (L: D) on fig leaves. The life table parameters were
estimated according to the age-stage, two-sex life table theory. In addition, the bootstrap technique was used for
estimating the variances and standard errors of the population parameters. R. ficifoliae successfully developed
and reproduced from 17 to 33°C, but the females reared at 36ºC laid a few eggs and died after several days. The
longest and shortest total longevity of females were recorded at 25°C (48.50 days) and 33°C (14.33 days),
respectively. The fecundity increased as temperature increased from 11.04 eggs at 17°C to 25.04 eggs at 25°C,
then decreased and reached 12.44 eggs at 33°C. The lowest and highest values of the intrinsic rate of increase
(r) were 0.043 and 0.234 day-1 that obtained at 17 and 30°C, respectively. The mean generation time (T)
significantly decreased from 33.39 days to 9.63 days with increasing temperature from 17°C to 33°C. Our
findings show that females reared at higher temperatures (>25°C) exhibit greater overall reproduction rates in
comparison to lower temperatures.
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