Abstract
Little has been published on the use of artificial diets for the production of butterflies in the Nymphalidae family. We evaluated the effect of a commercial vitamin supplement called Farvital - 18, composed of amino acids, vitamins and electrolytes, on the production of the butterfly Morpho helenor. This supplement was applied on three host plants from the family Fabaceae: Lonchocarpus oliganthus, Erythrina berteroana and Arachis pintoi. We analyzed the duration of the larval stages, the growth rate of the caterpillars at each stage, the survival rate of the caterpillars, pupal weight, and quality and quantity of pupae obtained. Lonchocarpus oliganthus without and with the addition of vitamin supplement produced larger caterpillars, higher survival rate, shorter larval stage duration, and produced heavier and better quality pupae. Arachis pintoi with and without vitamin supplement produced pupae of lower weight. Males fed on Lonchocarpus oliganthus hatched faster but for females the food did not make any difference. Independent of the diet used for the 600 initial larvae, 371 pupae were produced (61,83%). Of the total pupae obtained, 3,63% did not emerge and 88% of the pupae were A quality. The greatest adult emergence occurred between days 14 and 15 of the pupa formation. The pupae of females were heavier than males. The native plant Lonchocarpus oliganthus gave better yields in the production of butterflies Morpho helenor.
Highlights
We evaluated the effect of a commercial vitamin supplement called Farvital - 18, composed of amino acids, vitamins and electrolytes, on the production of the butterfly Morpho helenor
This supplement was applied on three host plants from the family Fabaceae: Lonchocarpus oliganthus, Erythrina berteroana and Arachis pintoi
We analyzed the duration of the larval stages, the growth rate of the caterpillars at each stage, the survival rate of the caterpillars, pupal weight, and quality and quantity of pupae obtained
Summary
RESUMEN: El uso de dietas artificiales en la producción de mariposas ha sido poco estudiado en la familia Nymphalidae, en este experimento evaluamos el efecto de un suplemento vitamínico comercial llamado Farvital – 18, compuesto por aminoácidos, vitaminas y electrolitos, en la producción de mariposas Morpho helenor, el suplemento se aplicó en tres plantas hospederas de la familia Fabaceae: Lonchocarpus oliganthus, Erythrina berteroana y Arachis pintoi, el tamaño de la muestra fue de 25 orugas para cada uno de los seis tratamientos, realizamos cuatro repeticiones, analizamos el tiempo del ciclo larval, la tasa de crecimiento de las orugas en cada estadio, la tasa de supervivencia de las orugas y en las pupas analizamos el peso, calidad y cantidad obtenida. Las orugas alimentadas con Arachis pintoi sin suplemento vitamínico, en el I estadio larval, produjeron capsulas cefálicas de mayor tamaño
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