Pulse grains in store suffer from great damage due to the attack of bruchid beetles, especially the pulse beetle
(PB), Callosobruchus maculatus (Fabricius). The suitability of five common pulse species (chickpea, cowpea, field
bean, pea and white bean) to infestation by C. maculatus was investigated. The effect of three legume species on the
reproductive biology and adult longevity of PB, as well as the influence of different temperature regimes on its
development were also studied. Results indicated that the tested pulse species differed in their susceptibility to
infestation with PB. Cowpea seeds were the most susceptible, followed by chickpea and peas; however, white bean and
faba bean seeds showed high degree of tolerance even under heavy PB infestation. As for the effect of pulse species on
certain biological aspects of PB, the ovipositional period was the longest (17.13 days) for the adult females reared on
cowpea, whereas the shortest (11.33 days) was recorded for those reared on chickpea. The mean number of eggs laid by
PB female reared on cowpea (43.20 eggs) was higher than that laid by female reared on chickpea (35.00 eggs) and pea
(32.20 eggs). The shortest longevity of adult males and females was recorded when reared on chickpea grains (14.67
and 20.67 days, respectively), while the corresponding longest periods were 15.60 and 25.53 days on cowpea grains.
Pertaining to the influence of temperature, PB did not complete its development at 40ºC and above. Temperature had a
profound effect on the development of all immature stages of PB. The total developmental period of PB was negatively
correlated to the increase of temperature; being longest (77.8 days) at the lowest tested temperature (20°C) and shortest
(20.7 days) at 35°C. Longevity of either males or females also decreased as temperature increased.