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Title: DEVELOPMENT OF AN ARTIFICIAL DIET FOR CHRYSOPERLA CARNEA

Author
item COHEN, ALLEN
item SMITH, LISA - UNIV OF AZ, PHOENIX, AZ
item BRUMMETT, DONALD

Submitted to: Silverleaf Whitefly: 1997 Supplement to the Five Year National Research and
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/1/1997
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: We developed a semi-solid artificial diet for the green lacewing Chrysoperia cornea Stephens (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae). The diet has thus far supported 13 continuous generations of lacewings which have weights, fecundities and fertilities comparable to those of lacewings grown on the factitious host, Ephestia and are superior to another widely used host, Sitotroga. Development times for diet-reared lacewings are slightly longer (9.5 days for larvae) than those reared on Ephestia (8.1 days). The lacewings are being produced in cells covered with organdy cloth, and larvae feed readily through the cloth with a Parafilm packet of the diet whose texture is that of a stringy paste. Larvae from every generation were tested for their ability to resume predation on natural hosts, and all generations voraciously consumed whitefly nymphs at rates of up to several hundred smaller instars per day. The diet costs about 6-7 dollars per kg compared to about 600 per kg for factitious host eggs.