A new oligidic (undefined) diet for rearing Lygus hesperus Knight (Heteroptera: Miridae) and L. lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) is described. The diet (referred to as Nl diet) is a semisolid slurry that accommodates the solid-to-liquid feeding habits of Lygus spp. The Nl diet consists of an “entomophage component” (cooked, whole chicken eggs, chicken egg yolks, sugar, and yeast) combined with plant components (soy bean flour, wheat germ, lima bean meal, and soy lecithin). Biological fitness estimates for L. hesperus indicated that mean biomass production per cage, adult wet and dry weights, survival to the adult stage, and egg production were significantly greater for the Nl diet than for the existing standard, Debolt (1982) diet. The ingredients in the Nl diet cost about ⅛ those in the Debolt diet, and preparation requires less than ½ of the labor. The cost of diet for production per 1000 eggs was approximately $0.004 compared to $0.04 for an equal number of eggs from Debolt diet. Recent work, started after the currently reported bioassays with L. hesperus, indicates that the Nl diet also supports development and reproduction in the tarnished plant bug, L. lineolaris.This diet was used to rear and 15 generations of L. hesperus and is currently being used to support production colonies; it has also been used to rear L. lineolaris for 5 generations, thus far. The L. lineolaris colony started from field collected populations has been reared continuously and exclusively on the Nl diet and is currently in a log phase of population growth. This diet should be beneficial in providing a great reduction of Lygus production costs while producing a high quality, vigorously reproducing insect.
Contributor Notes
2Mention of a trade name does not constitute endorsement by the USDA.
3Provisional patent application for this diet was filed February 25, 1999.