Abstract
We provide a rationale for diets that temporarily support populations of insects but not sustained rearing of target insects. We call such sustaining media, “interim diets”. We present formulation and performance details of such a diet, which sustains specialist adult predators of hemlock woolly adelgids (HWA) for several months. The diet base is ground, freeze-dried, cooked chicken breast, heat-treated chicken egg yolk with several nutritional and functional supplements. This diet has been tested in our laboratories for five years and has been validated in several mass-rearing laboratories where HWA predators are routinely produced. Although the current diet does not support complete development of HWA predators from egg to adult, it is useful as an economical and convenient means of keeping predators alive and healthy during periods when natural prey are not available. Unlike generalist predators, HWA predators would not accept factitious hosts such as scale, aphids, lepidopteran eggs or other foods that might have sustained them during “feeding droughts”. The predators studied here were beetles, Sasajiscymnus tsugae (Coccinellidae) and Laricobius nigrinus (Derodontidae). We experimented with several diet-presentation systems designed to fulfill the feeding requirements of the beetles and to preserve the diets by preventing desiccation and deterioration. We developed several forms of a hen’s egg-based diet and a diet-presentation system that included alginate gels and slurry diets that were made from adhering liquid materials to a solid/capture medium (freeze dried, powdered chicken breast). Some diets and diet-presentation systems induced strong feeding responses and allowed adult predators to stay alive and active for several months and to return to egg production days after being returned to HWA. The paper describes a stable, palatable diet and dietpresentation techniques that allow researchers and mass-rearing facilities to sustain healthy populations of predators during regular periods of prey scarcity.
Highlights
IntroductionThe goal of researchers in developing artificial diets is to provide a medium that is fully capable of producing continuous generations of the target insect [1]
Interim vs. continuous development dietsGenerally, the goal of researchers in developing artificial diets is to provide a medium that is fully capable of producing continuous generations of the target insect [1]
We named these diets the FDFE3 Diet with a basic formulation of chicken egg yolks supplemented with nutrients and functional materials (Table 1a) and the CC Diet (Table 1b), which is a derivation of the FDFE3 Diet where the later diet in its freshly-prepared liquid form is absorbed into powdered freeze-dried chicken breast and freeze dried
Summary
The goal of researchers in developing artificial diets is to provide a medium that is fully capable of producing continuous generations of the target insect [1] Such diets may be used for research purposes or for production of insects to be used for programs that may include sterile insect techniques, production of predators or parasitoids for biological control, insects to be used as foods for other organisms, and many other uses [1,2]. The standards for judging success (listed below) include the economics, practicality, and sustainability of diet usage, but generally, the incipient diets are intended to allow production of continuous generations of the target insect Examples of such continuous development diets are ones used in the screwworm [3,4] and fruit fly facilities [5,6] for sterile insect techniques (SIT) and for biological control of pests [7,8]. These authors describe mass-rearing programs where the target insects have been produced for hundreds of continuous generations and where addition of field-collected materials is necessitated only by the objective of increasing genetic diversity of colonized populations, rather than the need to re-establish colonies because of diet inadequacies [9,10].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Entomology, Ornithology & Herpetology: Current Research
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
