Sasajiscymnus tsugae Sasaji and McClure (Coleeptera: Coccinellidae), is a biological control agent imported for management of hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae Annand. In mass rearing S. tsugae, accurate estimation of egg numbers is important because larvae are cannibalistic, especially at higher densities. To determine the most accurate means of estimating egg production, three brands of ...

A preliminary conclusion of the research is that there does not appear to be significant genetic differences in developmental times between the codling moth populations in walnuts and apples. Codling moths were collected from walnuts and placed onto artificial diet as a rearing medium. Data obtained from these individuals were consistent with the data obtained from colonies of codling moth coll...

Mechoris ursulus (Roelofs) (Coleoptera: Attelabidae) is a pest weevil of Fagaceae oak trees in eastern Asia. The female has a distinct branch-cutting behavior in conjunction with oviposition in the acorns of its host plant. This study analyzed the factors influencing oviposition preference by carrying out continuous field surveys over the course of 2009-2010 and through laboratory rearing. The ...

Wheat germ oil was added to a larval liquid diet for rearing Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae) to optimize fruit fly quality. Effects of various concentrations of wheat germ oil at 0.04, 0.07, 0.15, 0.30, and 0.66% and their possible mode of action were evaluated. Results suggest that addition of wheat germ oil does not affect pupal weight, larval developmental period, adult e...

Entomologists often require large numbers of experimental insects for laboratory studies. The quality of these insects should be high and constant, otherwise the results of replicate experiments can be contradictive or results from subsequent fieldwork might be disappointing. The quality of experimental insects can be influenced by population density, nutrition, environmental conditions, etc. T...

Present study was conducted to determine the dry mass and the total ammonia-N (TAN) excretion in embryos, Zoea (I–XI) and post-larvae (PL) stages of Macrobrachium rosenbergii at 1, 5, and 10 d after metamorphosis (PL1, PL5, and PL10). Tested animals were collected according to their developmental stages, and placed into incubation chambers (∼50 mL) for 2 hours to calculate the TAN excretion of ...

Homeostasis is the ability of physiological systems to regain functional balance following environment or experimental insults and synaptic homeostasis has been demonstrated in various species following genetic or pharmacological disruptions. Among environmental challenges, homeostatic responses to temperature extremes are critical to animal survival under natural conditions. We previously repo...

Mineral and heavy metal accumulation in black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae (BSFL) is of growing interest. The bioaccumulation elements BSFL usually assessed by a factor (BAF), which the ratio between concentration an element organism its feeding substrate. Recently, new index, i.e. index (BAI), represents relative increase given to initial has been proposed. BAI claimed be more valid ...

A liquid diet for rearing Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) was developed. Several yeast-based products were evaluated as diet ingredients, and a combination of whole cell yeast (LBI2240) and hydrolyzed yeast (such as FNILS65) in 1:1Ð3:1 ratio was selected for use in the study. Larvae reared in a liquid dietwithLBI2240:FNILS65 ratios of either 1:1 or 3:1 resulted in the same...

The relationship between body size and fitness in parasitoid wasps has several effects on parasitic ability, reproductive behavior in female wasps, and progeny fitness. Female wasps with various body sizes were obtained by mass-rearing a gregarious ectoparasitoid, Sclerodermus pupariae, which is one of the excellent parasites to control the larvae and pupae of Buprestidae and Cerambycidae. We i...