Effects of temperature and yeast supplementation on the development ofTribolium castaneum (Herbst) in wholemeal and polished flour derived from four cereals in Maiduguri, Nigeria

The effects of temperature, yeast and polishing (removal of bran) on the development ofTribolium castaneurn (Herbst) in flour derived from millet, sorghum, maize and wheat were investigated for one generation in Maiduguri, Nigeria. Significantly moreT. castaneurn adults and larvae developed in flour stored at 35 °C than in flour stored at 30 °C or 40 °C; mortality of adult beetles in flour stored at 40 °C was 95 % in sorghum and maize and 100 % in millet and wheat. Addition of three levels (2.5, 5.0 and 10.0 %, w/w) of yeast to cereal flour, on average, significantly increased the population of adult and larval progenies relative to the population in yeast-free flour. Considerably higher number of adult beetles developed in wholemeal than in polished flour derived from millet.