A study on the biology of Utetheisa ornatrix reared on the artificial diet, was conducted to determine the thermal requirements in each development stage. The aim was to find out the thermal regions in the São Paulo state where the pest could develop on Crotalaria spp. The insects were reared on an artificial diet based on the white beans and yeast. U. ornatrix thermal requirements were tested at 18, 20, 22, 25, 28, 30, and 32ºC 70±20% RH, and 14-h photophase. Lower threshold temperatures (TT) and thermal constants (K) for the egg, larval and pupal stages were 12.7ºC and 51.2 GDD, 13.5ºC and 290.9 GDD, 13.8ºC and 108.4 GDD, respectively; TT and K values for the biological cycle were 13.8ºC and 436.3 GDD.
Crotalaria; Rattlebox moth; rearing technique
