Abstract
The Mediterranean flour moth, Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), is one of the most important pests of stored products, especially damaging cereals. Besides pest status, its eggs and larvae are commonly used for mass rearing of many natural enemies. Different diets are suggested for the production of E. kueniella, but the influence of diet supplements, such as yeast and glycerine on the performance of E. kuehniella diets are not clearly understood. In the present study, we investigated the effects of several diet ingredients on some major biological parameters of E. kuehniella. Ten diets based on different combinations of wheat flour, cornmeal, wheat bran, glycerine and yeast were tested in the experiments. Twenty eggs of E. kuehniella were added into 5 g of each diet within separate plastic cylindrical containers (5 cm height × 3 cm diameter) and incubated in climate rooms at 25 ± 1 °C and 60 ± 10 Relative Humidity (R.H) on a 14 h light: 10 h dark photoperiod. Pupal weight, developmental period, emergence ratio, fecundity and fertility were determined. The diet containing wheat flour, wheat bran, glycerine and yeast in a percentage of 53.33, 26.67, 15 and 5%, respectively, resulted in shorter development time and higher fertility, and could be used as an alternative to the standard diets currently used in insectaries.
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