Special Collection: Insect Diets Research
Insects have been reared on their natural food with considerable success; however, the use of artificial diets is a matter of necessity for techniques requiring large insect populations. Of particular importance is mass production of insects for programs such as the sterile insect technique (SIT), in which millions of sterile males are released for area-wide control or eradication of pest species such as, fruit flies, screwworms, and pink bollworms. Rearing insects on artificial diets is advantageous for rearing parasitoids and predators where the need for providing live prey has been eliminated. Artificial diets allow insects to be reared throughout the year independent of the natural food sources that may be seasonal or unavailable in sufficient quantities. In addition, there are logistical benefits of using artificial diets such as: ease of transport, reduced storage space and handling of dietary ingredients, simplification of diet preparation and presentation, and the low cost of production. During the past several decades, as a result of intensive research on nutritional requirements and quality control, a large number of artificial diets have been developed and successfully used. Some of these diets are now commercially available for rearing many species of insects.
Increasingly, there are demands for high-quality reared insects for research, pest management programs, educational projects in schools, and as supplementary protein sources in diets of other organisms, including humans. The future of the insect diet research and development is bright and promising, but at the same time will be challenging. For example, advanced diets for hematophagous vectors of pathogens of humans and livestock, such as mosquitoes, midges, and tsetse flies, are lacking. Use of genetically modified insects in pest control programs is showing great promise, but rearing these insects present its own challenges, as do highly cannibalistic species. The articles presented here in this special issue address some of the challenges in diet research and insect rearing that the readers certainly will find interesting and informative.
M. F. Chaudhury
Research Entomologist, USDA-ARS (Retired)
A novel bioassay to evaluate the potential of Beauveria bassiana strain NI8 and the insect growth regulator novaluron against Lygus lineolaris on a non-autoclaved solid artificial diet
Maribel Portilla, Gordon Snodgrass, Randall Luttrell, Stefan Jaronski
A Review of the McMorran Diet for Rearing Lepidoptera Species With Addition of a Further 39 Species
V. A. D. Hervet, R. A. Laird, K. D. Floate
Artificial diets for rearing the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata
Dale B. Gelman, Robert A. Bell, Lynda J. Liska, Jing S. Hu
Augmenting Laboratory Rearing of Stable Fly (Diptera: Muscidae) Larvae With Ammoniacal Salts
Kristina Friesen, Dennis R. Berkebile, Jerry J. Zhu, David B. Taylor
Evaluation of the susceptibility of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, to a selection of novel biorational insecticides using an artificial diet
Amin Sadeghi, Els J.M. Van Damme, Guy Smagghe
Influence of diet on the larval beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua, glucose oxidase activity
Magali Merkx-Jacques, Jacqueline C. Bede
Lyophilized artificial diet for rearing the Neotropical Euschistus heros (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)
Agustín C. Mendoza, Aline C. P. da Rocha, José R. P. Parra
Moisture source and diet affect development and reproduction of Orius thripoborus and Orius naivashae , two predatory anthocorids from southern Africa
Jochem Bonte et al.
New artificial diet for continuous rearing of the bean pod borer, Maruca vitrata
Pan Wang et al.
Rearing honey bees, Apis mellifera, in vitro I: Effects of sugar concentrations on survival and development
Osman Kaftanoglu, Timothy A. Linksvayer, Robert E. Page, Jr
Rearing Larvae of the Avian Nest Parasite, Philornis downsi(Diptera: Muscidae), on Chicken Blood-Based Diets
Paola F. Lahuatte, M. P. Lincango, G. E. Heimpel, C. E. Causton
Rearing the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, on a tapioca-based artificial diet
Bilal Haider Abbasi et al.
Selection and Suitability of an Artificial Diet for Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) Based on Physical and Chemical Characteristics
J. G. Bajonero, J. R. P. Parra
Soybean flour and wheat germ proportions in artificial diet and their effect on the growth rates of the tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens
Carlos A. Blanco et al.
