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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stoneville, Mississippi » Southern Insect Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #301378
Title: Artificial diets for life tables bioassays of TPB in Mississippi

Author
item Portilla, Maribel
item Snodgrass, Gordon
item Luttrell, Randall

Submitted to: Midsouth Entomologist
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/4/2014
Publication Date: 9/30/2014
Citation: Portilla, M., Snodgrass, G.L., Luttrell, R.G. 2014. Artificial diets for life tables bioassays of TPB in Mississippi. Midsouth Entomologist. 7:128-135.

Interpretive Summary: Development of management programs based on biological alternatives such as biological control, bio-rational chemicals, plant breeding, sterile insect release, and genetic engineering of target crops are very important and all these approaches depend on a mass rearing system on artificial diet. Artificial diet are also needed to the evaluation of many control options for activity against TPB which, currently is relying on green beans, broccoli or other materials such florist wet foam. Our study demonstrated that the impact of B. bassiana and novaluron on adults and nymphs of TPB can be determined through bioassays using semisolid and solid artificial diet.

Technical Abstract: Two artificial diets for mass rearing and bioassay of the tarnished plant bug, (TPB), Lygus lineolaris Palisot de Beauvois, (Hemiptera: Miridae) were modified and developed, respectively. The first diet is a modification of a semisolid artificial diet (NI diet), which permits large scale rearing of omnivore insects such as TPB and the western tarnished plant bug, (WTPB), Lygus hesperus Knight. Both species can be produced with higher biological fitness values than those reported for both species using the existing standard NI diet. The modified artificial diet cut the coking component (NI carnivore diet), avoided antibiotics, acids, and formaldehyde, and changed other ingredients such as preservatives and minerals. These modifications made the modified NI artificial 20% less expensive, 75% less laborious and completely harmless to humans in its preparation. The second diet is a non-autoclaved solid artificial diet for rearing Lygus spp. and beneficial insects. The diet’s ingredients include soybean, lima bean, wheat germ, chicken egg yolk, agar and inhibitors. The diet can be prepared in one step by blending the ingredients in a heated aqueous solution. Insects maintained with the solid diet can be used to measure virulence of fungal entomopathogens, the efficacy of insect growth regulators, or resistance to insecticides. The solid artificial diet allows for evaluation of large scale bioassays of late instars and adults of Lygus spp. and several omnivore insects. Both diets could have a large impact on agriculture by enabling researchers to investigate control of TPB, protection of beneficial organisms, development of new and improved pest control technologies, integration of component technologies in an IPM system and development of area wide suppression programs for TPB.