An Agar-Free Insect Rearing Artifical Diet: A New Approach for the Low Cost Mass Rearing of The Egyptian Cotton Leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.)(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

A new formula for insect rearing artificial diets without using any of their conventional gelling agents was provided in the present work, for the first time. Larvae of the Egyptian cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) were successfully mass-reared, for nine consecutive generations on an agar-free artificial diet. This suggested medium is based on yellow lentils, Lens culinaris and rice, Oryza sativa as the basic constituents. An accurately amounted ratio between these two highly nutritive constituents produces, when cooked, a firm gel with desirable physical properties for insect-rearing artificial media. Through 9 consecutive generations, the S. littoralis biological results of the developmental durations, pupation %, pupal weights, sex ratio, adult emergency, longevity, fecundity and egg fertility, were either comparable or superior to those recorded for both the reference natural diet, the castor bean leaves Ricinus communis L. and the previously reported results on agar-or alginate-based media for rearing the present insect On this diet, S. littoralis larvae have been reared for 9 generations with no noticeable decline in their yields of pupae or moths and fecundity or hatchability. The estimated cost of the suggested artificial diet ingredients for rearing 1000 newly-hatched larvae until pupation, was about 6.2L.E. (ca., $1.0). On the other hand, the cost of such an agar-free diet was found to be reduced by 60 to 73% when compared to agar-based diets developed by other authors. [Alfazairy A, Sadek H, Guirguis G, Karam H. An Agar-Free Artifical Diet: A New Approach for Low Cost Mass Rearing of The Egyptian Cotton Leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.)(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Life Sci J 2012;9(4):4646-4653] (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com. 700