Insects of short generation time have higher rates of increase and develop resistance to insecticides more quickly than insects of comparatively longer generation time. Temperature and food quality are two key factors that may influence the generation time.
Generation time is the time required to complete a generation.
Based on this definition, I sought the insect that has the shortest generation time. Methods Candidates were sought in general entomology textbooks from the 1950s to 1980s and via personal communications. Results Aphids may have the shortest generation time for their parthenogenetic reproduction. Gutierrez et al. They found that apterae take 5.1 days at 26 C to finish one generation.