22 May 2019 Developing Mass Egg-Laying Medium for the Edible Ruspolia differens (Orthoptera: Tettigonidae)
Geoffrey M. Malinga, Vilma J. Lehtovaara, Anu Valtonen, Philip Nyeko, Heikki Roininen
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Abstract

The edible katydid, Ruspolia differens (Serville), is an economically and nutritionally important insect species that is common and widespread in Africa. Currently, there are aims to develop mass-rearing methods suitable for this species, but a critical first step would require a suitable oviposition medium to ensure economic and easy production of eggs with high hatchability. The objective of the present study was to determine the oviposition preference and egg hatchability in different oviposition media. Based on preliminary testing of a wide range of different materials, two oviposition media, namely, artificial (folded plastic cloth) and natural medium (leaf sheath of Pennisetum purpureum Schumach attached to a stem), were selected for a detailed experiment. A two-choice laboratory experiment was conducted in which R. differens females were able to select between the folded plastic cloth (one side covered with short fleece) and a leaf sheath of P. purpureum (wrapped in polyester fiber). The results show that R. differens laid almost three times more eggs on the plastic cloth (mean ± SE, 169.3 ± 18.0) than on the natural substrate, P. purpurem (69.0 ± 13.9). However, the hatchability (overall mean% ± SE, 56.5 ± 4.7) of eggs in the two media did not differ. Folded plastic cloth, therefore, provided a more effective medium for egg laying by R. differens, and is thus a promising oviposition medium for getting natural populations to start laying eggs in future mass rearing.

© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Geoffrey M. Malinga, Vilma J. Lehtovaara, Anu Valtonen, Philip Nyeko, and Heikki Roininen "Developing Mass Egg-Laying Medium for the Edible Ruspolia differens (Orthoptera: Tettigonidae)," Journal of Economic Entomology 112(5), 2157-2160, (22 May 2019). https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toz124
Received: 4 October 2018; Accepted: 5 April 2019; Published: 22 May 2019
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KEYWORDS
edible bush cricket
mass rearing
nsenene
oviposition media
Uganda
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