Effects of four insect diets on the development, food digestion and utilization of Myrmeleon sagax larvae
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Key Words：Myrmeleon sagax larvae， insect diet， growth and development， digestion and utilization of food
Abstract： The larvae of Corcyra cephalonica， Musca domestica， Spodoptera litura and Spodoptera exigu which could be easily reared on large scale, were used to feed Myrmeleon sagax (Walker) larvae (also called antlion), and the effect of these four insect diets on development, food digestion and utilization of antlion was studied. The results showed that the antlions fed on M. domestica larvae obtained significantly higher body weight, pupal weight, relative growth rate and pupation percentage, and significantly shortened larval duration when compared with the antlions fed on S. litura and S. exigu larvae. When feeding on C. cephalonica larvae, antlions had similar body weight, pupal weight and pupation percentage, but significantly decreased relative growth rate and prolonged larval duration, than those fed on M. domestica larvae. The approximate digestibility of antlions was not significantly different among the four insect diets, however, the utilization efficiency and the transformation efficiency were highest in those fed on M. domestica larvae. It would be best for the development of antlions to provide M. domestica larvae at interval of 4 days.