Constituents in Diets for Galleria mellonella

Abstract

In tests to develop a high quality, low cost diet for rearing the greater wax moth for egg production, it was found that both beeswax and honey increased cost without increasing egg production. Yeast was a desirable constituent and Wheast® was superior to baker's yeast or brewer's yeast. Wheast could be reduced to ca. 3% without adverse effects. A mixture of bran, cornmeal, and wheat flour resulted in less expensive egg production than baby cereal or a mixture of CSM® and CSMA®. Optimum proportions were: liquid to dry ingredients, 40/60; glycerin to water in the liquid ingredients, 35/65; bran to a 50/50 mixture of cornmeal and wheat flour in the dry ingredients, 40/60.