An Artificial Diet for Rearing Coccinellid Beetles

Abstract

One of the most important factors limiting the use of coccinellid beetles in the biological control of certain insect pests is the difficulty experienced in rearing sufficient quantities. The standard method of rearing them on suitable hosts is often impracticable because of their restrictive diets. Such difficulties were encountered when the introduction of some coccinellid beetles was attempted in French Morocco, as a control measure for a coccid (Parlatoria blanchardi Targ.) on date trees. The problem of rearing or obtaining the host in sufficient quantity greatly hampered the production of the predators. For this reason, considerable time and effort was devoted to the development of a satisfactory and economic technique for the breeding of these predators on artificial media.

Food Relationships

“…honey, yeast, royal jelly of bees, and vertebrate tissues) either in limited amount (meridic diets ) or in suffi cient amounts to provide most dietary requirements ( oligidic diets ; Racioppi et al 1981 ). Smirnoff (1958) reported good results in rearing larvae and adults of multiple species of aphidophagous, coccidophagous, acarophagous, and mycophagous coccinellids, when the ladybirds were fed with diets including royal jelly, agar, cane sugar, honey, alfalfa fl our, yeast and water, plus small quantities of their natural foods. Similarly, Chumakova (1962) reared Cryptolaemus montrouzieri on small amounts of natural prey mixed with a variety of substances.…”

“…Building on the work of Szumkowski (1952) and Smirnoff (1958) , Chinese scientists developed diets for supporting both larval growth and oviposition of the oligophagous Coccinella septempunctata . These liver -based diets included royal jelly, soybean oil or corn oil, and a juvenoid in olive oil (e.g.…”

Coccinellidae as predators of mites: Stethorini in biological control

“…Colburn (1971) determined that a modified wheat germ diet with honey greatly increased adult S. punctum survival in the laboratory over a two week period compared to sugar water alone. Smirnoff (1958) reared S. punctillum and 17 other coccinellids on a diet consisting of cane sugar, honey, agar and royal jelly. Given the limited work done on these non-prey diets, it is difficult to make any firm conclusions as to their value in the mass production of beetles.…”

Production of Coleopteran Predators

“…To date, most research has centered on aphidophagous coccinellids. Smirnoff (1958) was one of the first to formulate artificial diets (with arthropod components) for coccinellids. He reported that an artificial medium for rearing adults was essentially composed of cane sugar, agar, royal jelly, honey, and pulverized dry insects (natural prey of the predator species in rearing).…”