A SHORT-TERM AUXILIARY DIET FOR THE PREDACEOUS STINK BUG, PERILLUS BIOCULATUS (HEMIPTERA: PENTATOMIDAE)
Abstract
Perillus bioculatus (F.) can be maintained in the laboratory on a diet of Heliothis virescens F. larvae if supplemented with Colorado potato beetle (CPB) eggs. Here we demonstrate that an artificial diet can replace the CPB eggs and maintain the colony for at least three generations. This enables us to maintain our Perillus colonies at high numbers independent of the normal fluctuations in our CPB colony. Survival of nymphs, adult longevity, start of ovipositioning, total number of eggs per female, total number of clutches per female, and percent hatch were equivalent between the two rearing regimes for three generations. Fecundity on the artificial diet was greatly reduced by the sixth generation, leading to the collapse of the colony during the seventh generation.View this article in BioOne
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