Submitted to: Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting North Central Branch
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/1997
Publication Date: N/A
Technical Abstract: An increased interest in the augmentation of entomophagous insects as biological control agents against pest insects of agricultural crops, has intensified the need to be able to rear beneficial insects for environmental assessment studies, basic biology studies, and for the mass propagation of the species for inoculative or innundative releases. Often, the use of an artificial diet to rear a beneficial insect is preferred over the use of a natural or factitious host. However, the formulation of that artificial diet requires a significant knowledge of the nutritional requirements of the beneficial insect. Early studies on the nutritional needs of entomophagous insects focused on defining the primary compounds in the diet. Recent work has shown that complex proteins, lipids and carbohydrates are critical ingredients of diet formulations that have been used to successfully rear beneficial insects for many generations. In nthis report, comparisons will be made of diet formulations based on liquid versus solid, and insect-free versus insect-derived ingredients. These comparisons will emphasize the benefit of studies of semi-solid insect- derived diet formulations in order to advance the development of cost- effective artificial diets for the mass propagation of entomophagous insects.