COMPARISON OF OVIPOSITION AND LONGEVITY OF MONOCHAMUS-ALTERNATUS AND MONOCHAMUS-CAROLINENSIS (COLEOPTERA, CERAMBYCIDAE) UNDER LABORATORY CONDITIONS

Female adults of 2 pine sawyer species, Monochamus alternatus Hope and Monochamus carolinensis (Olivier),were reared individually as unmated females or with a male as a mated female under laboratory conditions. The numbers of oviposition sites and eggs per female were recorded fo r the duration of the adult life stage. Patterns of oviposition, fecun dity, and adult longevity were compared. M alternatus females lived si gnificantly longer than M. carolinensis, while M. carolinensis females deposited a greater number of eggs per day than M. alternatus females . This intel action resulted in similar fecundities for the 2 species. Unmated females lived significantly longer than mated females but dep osited significantly fewer eggs per day, resulting in a significantly higher fecundity for mated females. The distribution of eggs within ov iposition sites was similar between species and mated conditions. The majority of oviposition sites contained a single egg. The age-specific oviposition rates (eggs/48 hr) were also similar between species and mated status. Regressions of egg deposition and, adult age indicated. that all females had a nearly constant rate of egg deposition througho ut their adult lives.