Alphitobius diaperinus, known as the lesser mealworm, is abundantly found in poultry houses, and causes losses in poultry worldwide. The ways to control this beetle are based exclusively on the use of insecticides, concerning which there are already several reports of resistant populations, thus forcing the use of alternative methods such as biological control, interfering in the life cycle of the insect. The present study evaluated, under laboratory conditions, the mortality of larvae and adults of A. diaperinus at different temperatures of heating (45º, 50º, 55º and 60º C) and cooling (-10º, -13º and -18º C) in the presence (PM) and absence of wood shavings (AM) by way of the lethal time of 100% of insects (TL100) in minutes at each temperature. The TL100 for larvae and adults at 45º C were 36 and 38 AM and 42 and 57 PM, at 50º C they were 15 and 11 AM and 19 and 16 PM, at 55º C they were 8 and 9 AM and 12 PM, and at 60º C they were 5 and 6 AM and 11 and 9 PM. At -10º C they were 57 and 60 AM and 70 and 75 PM, at -13º C they were 52 and 55 AM and 60 and 64 PM, and at -18º C they were 42 and 43 AM and 51 and 52 PM. At all temperatures, the mortality of the insects was quick; therefore methods of control by way of temperature should consider these points for reference.
Control; environmental variation; mortality; fermentation