Note on a Method of Comparing Diets for the Pale Western Cutworm, Agrotis orthogonia Morr. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Abstract

The pale western cutworm, Agrotis orthogonia Morr., has been successfully reared in the laboratory on a number of different foods (Jacobson and Blakeley, 1958; McGinnis and Kasting, 1959). Initial evaluation of the nutritional adequacy of diets for the cutworm has been achieved by comparing growth curves based on mean weights of the groups of larvae on test (McGinnis and Kasting, 1959). This note shows that the relative value of diets for the larvae of the pale western cutworm can be established more simply by comparing growth curves based on mean weights recorded two days after each moult.