Performance of Two Food Substrates in the Mass Rearing of Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel (Diptera: Tephritidae)

The fruit fly Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel is a major constraint to mango production in Burkina Faso. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of two types of food substrates in optimizing the mass rearing of B. dorsalis larvae. For this purpose, 200 eggs of B. dorsalis were divided into four batches of 50 eggs and incubated in Petri dishes containing the different food substrates (Diet 1 and Diet 2). This method was used to evaluate the rate and duration of egg hatching, as well as the development time of the different larval stages. In addition, 1200 pupae divided into four batches of 300 pupae, contained in PVC tubes, were placed inside the rearing cages to monitor the emergence of B. dorsalis. Ten pairs of B. dorsalis were placed in rearing cages and fed with Enzymatic Yeast Hydrolysate and sugar to evaluate the fecundity of female flies and the survival of both sexes. The developmental cycle length in Diet 1 and Diet 2 was 23.03 days and 23.24 days, respectively. Fecundity duration ranged from 57.75 ± 2.29 to 109.81 ± 3.81 days for females from Diet 1 and Diet 2, respectively. The pupal hatching rate varied significantly (P B. dorsalis, but the spawning index was 4 times higher with Diet 1. Most of the components of Diet 1 are available on the local market and are cheaper. Thus, we recommend the use of Diet 1 for B. dorsalis larvae mass rearing.

Effect of Artificial and Corn Leaves Diets on Development, Survival and Reproduction of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Sierra Leone

The use of artificial diets to mass reared insect stock under laboratory conditions, promotes knowledge about the biology, behavior, and nutritional requirements of insects;with such information being fundamental for the formulation of efficient integrated pest management programs (IPM) strategies. However, the artificial diets used for rearing Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in the laboratory in this study, do not contain wheat germ, used for routine laboratory rearing. The aim of this study was to compare food preference and consumption by S. frugiperda larvae, as well as evaluate insect developmental parameters in the standard diet and the bean-based diets under laboratory conditions. Four artificial diets were used: a standard diet based on broad beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) used to rear S. frugiperda (D1), a diet with the substitution of two types of beans, cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) (D2) and pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan L) (D3);and a diet of fresh corn leaves (D4), the host plant of the pest species. Using a multiple-choice test, we observed that the larvae preferred diets D4 followed by D1. The relative consumption rate (RCR), relative growth rate (RGR), relative metabolic rate (RMR), approximate digestibility (AD), efficiency of conversion of ingested food (ECI), efficiency of conversion of digested food (ECD), and the metabolic cost (CM) for S. frugiperda fifth instar larvae varied among diets. The diet D4 resulted in better ingestion, digestion, assimilation, and conversion of food, but with a metabolic cost to assimilate the food. The different bean varieties present in the diet influenced larval length, larval periods, larval survival, pupal periods, sex ratio, pupal weight, and pupal survival;but fecundity and longevity of adults were not affected. The different bean-based diets did positively influence population growth, with the most outstanding being D4. From the results of this study, the most adequate diet for rearing S. frugiperda in the laboratory is D4.

Design and selection of an artificial diet for the coconut black-headed caterpillar, Opisina arenosella, based on orthogonal array analysis

Opisina arenosella has been an outbreak pest of coconut trees in southern China since 2013. To develop efficient control methods for this invasive pest, adequate rearing protocols are desirable. In this study, an orthogonal array of artificial diets with 11 factors at 3 levels was deployed for both 2 nd–4 th and 5 th–6 th instar larvae of O. arenosella. Biological parameters including survival time of larvae, development time from larva to pupa, pupation rate, emergence rate, and pupal weight were monitored to reveal the most important components in the diet formulas. Biological parameters in O. arenosella were most affected by brewer’s yeast, sucrose, ascorbic acid, and wheat germ. Statistical analysis indicated that different diet combinations supported optimum performance of biological parameters for 2 nd–4 th and 5 th–6 th instar larvae. The validity of the optimization predicted by the orthogonal array analysis was confirmed in a follow-up bioassay with similar optimized diets for both 2 nd–4 th and 5 th–6 th instar larvae. The optimal artificial diet has great potential for the mass rearing technique, and can provide valuable results for using parasitoids in biological control of O. arenosella.

Quality control of the parasitoid wasp Trichogramma brassicae (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) over 45 generations of rearing on Sitotroga cerealella

Trichogramma brassicae(Bezdenko)is an important biological control agent that has been used widely against many lepidopteran pests.Commonly,colonies of Trichogramma are mass reared on factitious hosts such as Sitotroga cerealella(Olivier)over many generations.In this study,we evaluated the quality and performance of a colony of T.brassicae that had been reared for over 45 generations(G)using two-sex life table parameters and parasitism capacity.We found that female adult longevity was significantly different among sequential generations,ranging from 5.58±2.5 d(at G5)to 3.75±1.42 d(at G45).However,no significant difference was found in male adult longevity among different generations.Although female wasps survived longer until the 15th gener・ation,they allocated more days for egg laying at G5 and GIO.The highest values of gross reproductive rate(GRR),net reproductive rate(7.),intrinsic rate of increase(r),finite rate of increase(λ)and mean generation time(T)were found in G5 and GIO,which also showed significantly higher cq.No significant difference in the finite parasitism rate(co)was found among generations up to G15.These results suggest that T.brassicae wasps held under continuous laboratory rearing can be used successfully in biological control programs until the 15th generation without any loss of quality or performance.However,laboratory mass rearing colonies declined in quality after 15 generations and we suggest that they should be rejuvenated regularly by adding field-collected parasitoids periodically.

An improved culturing method for opiine fruit fly parasitoids and its application to parasitoid monitoring in the field

Good culturing methods play an important role in the study of insect behavior and its application to pest management. Here, we describe and validate a new method for rearing the parasitoid wasp, Diachasmirnorpha kraussii, which attacks some of the world＇s worst fruit fly pests and is an internationally used biological control agent. Our method differs from standard culturing approaches by presenting adult wasps with host- infested artificial media within a ＂culturing bag,＂ which mimics a natural （fruit） oviposition substrate. In laboratory trials using wild collected D. kraussii, the culturing bag method was compared to the use of host-infested nectarines, and a commonly used laboratory method of presenting host-infested artificial media within Petri dishes. The culturing bag method proved to be a significant improvement on both methods, combining the advantages of high host survival in artificial media with parasitism levels that were the equivalent to those recorded using host-infested fruits. In our field study, culturing bags infested with the Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni, and hung in a mixed peach and nectarine orchard proved to be effective ＂artificial fruits＂ attracting wild D. kraussii for oviposition. Significantly more adult wasps were reared from the culturing bags compared to field collected fruits. This was shown to be due to higher fruit fly larval density in the bags, as similar percentage parasitism rates were found between the culturing bags and ripe fruits. We discuss how this cheap, time-efficient method could be applied to collecting and monitoring wild D. kraussii populations in orchards, and assist in maintaining genetic variability in parasitoid laboratory cultures.