Urban Entomology Laboratory, Vector Control Research Unit, School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang, Malaysia.
J Econ Entomol. 2011 Dec;104(6):2087-94. doi: 10.1603/ec11234.
The effects of eight diets (atta flour, wheat flour, self-rising flour, rice flour, custard powder, corn flour, tapioca starch, and potato starch) on the development of the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), reared at 29-31 degrees C and 66-70% RH were assessed. Five pairs of male and female T. castaneum were reared on the respective diets for 28 d before the experimental setup was dismantled and adult counts were recorded. In another experiment, the insects were allowed to mate and oviposit in each flour or starch type over a period of 7 d before being removed. The counting of pupae and adult emergence began on the day of emergence and was continued on a daily basis until day 140. Proximate analysis was performed for chemical composition of each diet, and the numbers of new adults that developed were found to be positively correlated (r2 = 0.97; P < 0.05) with the protein content and negatively correlated (r2 = 0.93; P < 0.05) with the carbohydrate content. For T. castaneum, the suitable diets were ranked as follows: atta flour > wheat flour > self-rising flour > rice flour > custard powder > corn flour > tapioca starch > potato starch. T. castaneum larval development to the pupal and adult stages developed significantly faster in atta flour (P < 0.05) than in the other diets, and the greatest number of progeny was produced from beetles reared on atta flour. Fewer adults emerged from wheat flour, self-rising flour, and rice flour, and no new emergences were recorded for the remaining diets. Developmental rate was much slower in beetles reared on diets in which a low number in progeny was produced. These data illustrate that different diets can influence the sustainability of these insects and affect their development and growth.
八种饲料（ atta 面粉、小麦面粉、自发面粉、米粉、奶油粉、玉米粉、木薯淀粉和马铃薯淀粉）对在 29-31°C 和 66-70%RH 下饲养的赤拟谷盗（Tribolium castaneum （Herbst））的发育影响进行了评估。将五对雌雄赤拟谷盗分别饲养在各自的饲料上 28 天，然后拆除实验装置并记录成虫数量。在另一个实验中，让昆虫在每种面粉或淀粉类型中交配和产卵，持续 7 天，然后将其取出。蛹和成虫的计数从出现的那天开始，并持续每天进行，直到第 140 天。对每种饲料的化学成分进行了近似分析，发现新成虫的数量与蛋白质含量呈正相关（r²=0.97；P<0.05），与碳水化合物含量呈负相关（r²=0.93；P<0.05）。对于赤拟谷盗，合适的饲料排序如下： atta 面粉>小麦面粉>自发面粉>米粉>奶油粉>玉米粉>木薯淀粉>马铃薯淀粉。赤拟谷盗幼虫在 atta 面粉中发育到蛹和成虫阶段的速度明显快于其他饲料（P<0.05），并且从饲养在 atta 面粉上的甲虫中产生的后代数量最多。从小麦面粉、自发面粉和米粉中孵化的成虫数量较少，其余饲料中没有新的成虫孵化。在产生的后代数量较少的饲料中饲养的甲虫发育速度较慢。这些数据表明，不同的饲料可以影响这些昆虫的可持续性，并影响它们的发育和生长。
