Simocephalus expinosus, a North African species, was collected from a seasonal pond and reared in the laboratory at three different food concentrations of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (12 x 105cells/ml, 65 x 104cells/ml, 5 x 104cells/ml), in order to examine the effects of food depressions on the embryonic development, adult period, total life span, growth and reproduction under ambient room temperature. Culture media and food were renewed each day. Data were recorded during its entire life cycle. The results demonstrate that low food level exerted a negative influence on the embryonic development. It increases with decreasing resource level, while the trend was reversed as food concentration rose. When raised under low food conditions, S. expinosus had a significantly lower growth rate and lower reproductive rate. Therefore, in the field, populations of S. expinosus, under insufficient food level could suppress any reproduction and any growth phenomenon, leading to its decline and its disappearance. The results indicated that food availability affects neither adult stage, nor total life span of S. expinosus.
