Comparison of Five Food Sources for use in Bioassaying Soil Insecticides Against the Lesser Cornstalk Borer (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Five food sources were compared for use in bioassaying soil treated with granular insecticides against lesser cornstalk borer (LCB), Elasmopalpus lignosellus (Zeller), larvae. The least efficient food source was sorghum seedling grown from treated or untreated seed. Larval survival was variable when these seedlings were used with untreated soil; seedlings were also time-consuming to produce. Survival was acceptable when peanut and lima bean seedlings were used, but these seedlings were also time consuming to produce. Artificial diet plugs were the most efficient food source for the soil pesticide bioassay. Diet plugs were easy to produce and handle, and larvae survived well on plugs in untreated soil.