Résumé
The butterfly, citrus swallowtail Papilio demoleus L. is an important pest in nursery and young citrus trees in Iran and worldwide. It has received considerable attention among researchers. Here, we studied the physiological parameters ofP. demoleus L. (Lepidoptera: papilionidae) fed on four varieties of citrus (i. e. Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck, C. limon (L.) Burm.f., C. sinensis var. valencia, C. paradise Macfad.). The study was carried out under laboratory conditions (24±2°C, 65±10% RH and 16 h photoperiod). The 5th instar larvae showed highest relative consumption rate (RCR) by feeding on C. limon. The highest relative growth rate (RGR) (1.28±0.03) was recorded with C. sinensis. Efficiency of conversion of ingested food (ECI) (26.21±0.43) and Efficiency of conversion of digested food (ECD) (39.05±0.57) were highest with C. sinensis. The approximate digestibility (AD) recorded the lowest amount on C. sinensis. The highest activities of proteases were observed in the alimentary tracts of the larvae reared on C. sinensis var. valencia and C. paradisi at two different pH, pH 7 and 10. Chymotrypsin, trypsin, aminopeptidase, carboxypeptidase, α-glucosidase and β-glucosidase showed higher activities in larvae reared on C. paradise. While elastase and lipase showed higher activities in C. sinensis var. valencia, and α-amylase on C. sinensis. The amount of glycogen and triglyceride and total protein were higher in the hemolymph of larvae reared on C. paradisi, C. paradisi and C. sinensis var. valencia, respectively. The highest activities of gamma-glutamyntransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, alkalin aminoteransferase, alkaline phosphatase, acids phosphatase were observed on C. paradisi. However, the highest amount of aspartate aminotransferase was observed in C. sinensis var. valencia. Overall, these results indicate that the Citrus limon is an unsuitable host for Papilio demoleus.