Artificial plant-based diet for mass-rearing larvae of fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda

Abstract

Efforts to overcome the problems of a new pest, Spodoptera frugiperda or fall armyworm, need basic and applied research. In order to carry out the research efficiently, it is necessary to rear large numbers of test insects on an artificial diet. The present study aimed to determine the effect of an artificial diet on larval weight, adult longevity, and number of eggs laid by S. frugiperda. Artificial diets were prepared from leaf-based ingredients of land spinach (Ipomoea reptans), pigweed (Amaranthus hybridus), red mulberry (Morus rubra), and maize (Zea mays) (control). The present study indicated that the highest weight of 6th instars was found on treatment of pigweed leaves (135.79 mg), which was significantly different from others. The longest longevity of S. frugiperda adults was found on pigweed (9.06 days), but it was not significantly different from that on red mulberry (8.03 days). The highest number of eggs laid was on pigweed (94.63 eggs per female), but this was not significantly different from maize (91.30 eggs per female) and red mulberry (84.86 eggs per female). Finally, the most appropriate artificial diet for mass-rearing larvae of S. frugiperda is an artificial diet based on pigweed leaves.