Performance of the tiger-fly Coenosia attenuata Stein reared on the alternative prey, Chironomus plumosus (L.) larvae in coir substrate

Effect of Prey Species and Prey Densities on the Performance of Adult Coenosia attenuata

“…Body length and body weight of adult C. attenuata, D. melanogaster and B. impatiens were analyzed in our study to better understand the complexity of predation. We report body length and body weight of adult C. attenuata from Tianjin to be similar to those reported by us previously [17,39] and to those reported in Uruguay where the C. attenuata flies measured approximately 2.5-5.00 mm in length [47]. Body weight of adult D. melanogaster measured in this study is similar to those reported by Chen et al (2019) [48].…”

“…Martins et al (2015) presented an optimized method for mass rearing C. attenuata with fungus gnats and Drosophilids as prey, where the number of adults that emerged per parental pair ranged from 1.8 to 9.0 (= per pair progeny production, or the number of adult offspring that emerged in each cage divided by the number of parental pairs) [38]. In our study, the number of adult offspring that emerged ranged from 4.96 to 7.64 and 21.16 to 39.27 at least for per parental pair when fed adult D. melanogaster and B. impatiens, respectively according to survival rates of larvae, percentages of pupation and adult emergence in our previous reports [17,39]. The proportion of eggs that successfully hatched was much higher for C. attenuata adults fed B. impatiens adults than for those fed D. melanogaster adults at the same prey densities.…”

“…A colony of fungus gnats was initiated with about 400 B. impatiens adults captured from a greenhouse at Wuqing Experiment Station (Tianjin, China). Fungus gnats were reared using the method very similar to that reported by Zou et al (2021) [39]. Modifications were made to simplify and improve the processes of rearing and collecting fungus gnats for use in bioassays.…”

“…To achieve an effective level of control, however, requires the production of a large number of C. attenuata at low cost. Adults of fungus gnat and drosophilid are now the main prey used to rear C. attenuata adults [17,23,38,39]. Rearing drosophilids is quick, easy and not particularly expensive.…”

Focus on Insect Rearing Methodology to Promote Scientific Research and Mass Production

“…A colony of fungus gnats was initiated with about 400 B. impatiens adults captured from a greenhouse at Wuqing Experiment Station (Tianjin, China). Fungus gnats were reared using the method very similar to that reported by Zou et al (2021) [39]. Modifications were made to simplify and improve the processes of rearing and collecting fungus gnats for use in bioassays.…”