Artificial Diet for Mass Production of the Codling Moth, Carpocapsa Pomonella (Lepidoptera: Olethreutidae)

An artificial diet for rearing the codling moth is described. It is a modification of a casein–wheat germ diet that was initially developed for the cabbage looper. Agar was replaced by a mixture of wood sawdust, wheat flour, and wood pulp. Growth of microorganisms was controlled by sorbic acid and aureomycin, and by lowering the pH of the diet to 3.5 with citric acid. Production cost for dietary ingredients was about $1/1000 moths. The moths were slightly smaller than those reared on apple. When confined in cages, the sterilized diet-reared moths were somewhat less competitive than the apple-reared insects. However, sterilized diet-reared male moths released in an apple orchard dispersed more rapidly than sterilized apple-reared males.