Evaluations of sampling methods for "Darkling beetles" ( Alphitobius diaperinus Panzer) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) in the litter of broiler houses

Abstract

The Alphitobius diaperinus has been globally one of the major ectoparasites of the modern poultry production. With the industrial poultry expansion, this coleopteran has found in poultry facilities an excellent habitat for its development. Adults, eggs, larvae and pupae are found under the litter surface, in equipment and in cracks of the floors and walls, where they can cause remarkable damages. The counting of the A. diaperinus population using quantitative methods of sampling is of fundamental importance for the establishment of appropriate control measures and for evaluation of the effectiveness of insecticides. The present study was carried out in the experimental aviary of the " Center of Researches in Animal health" - CPPAR - FCAVJ/UNESP, where two methods of quantification of A. diaperinus were evaluated: the method of modified traps of Arends and the method of bricks, for counting of A. diaperinus in the chicken little. It was concluded that the two sampling methods employed did not differ (P>0,05) in the evaluation of infestation for adults and larvae of A. diaperinus.