A method for rearing the rice leaf folder (Cnaphalocrocis medinalis)using wheat seedlings
Author of the article:ZHU A-Xiu** QIAN Qiu LIU Xiang-Dong***
Author's Workplace：College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Key Words：Cnaphalocrocis medinalis, rearing method, wheat seedling, biological characteristics
Abstract： To develop a relatively convenient and cheap method of culturing the rice leaf folder (RLF) Cnaphalocrocis medinalis using wheat seedlings. Although a successful method for rearing the RLF on maize seedlings has been established this has some obvious limitations, such as the difficulty of planting maize seedlings in winter and the high price of maize seeds. [Methods] Life tables of the RLF on wheat and maize seedlings were compiled and key parameters compared. RLF larvae reared on wheat and maize seedlings were transferred onto rice seedlings to examine their relative fitness using the life table method. [Results] The RLF can complete its life cycle on wheat seedlings, and the survival and lifespan of larvae and pupae, sex ratio, lifetime fecundity and hatching rate of insects raised on wheat seedlings and maize were similar, except that the pupal weight of insects raised on wheat seedlings was significantly lighter. RLFs that had been reared on wheat for six generations could live normally on rice seedlings. [Conclusion] The biological traits of RLFs reared on wheat or maize seedlings were similar. Wheat seedlings can be used to culture large numbers of RLFs under laboratory conditions.