Development of Heliothis virescens1 and Diatraea saccharalis2 on a Soyflour-Corn Oil Diet34

Larval and pupal development times and male and female pupal weights were similar for the tobacco budworm (TBW), Heliothis virescens (F.) (Noctuidae), fed a soyflour-corn oil diet and a soyflour-wheat germ diet (standard) for five consecutive generations. We also observed similar results for the sugarcane borer (SCB), Diatraea saccharalis (F.) (Pyralidae), feeding on the same diets for the same number of generations. Egg hatch and adult emergence for each species reared on the standard and experimental diet were similar throughout five consecutive generations. Total food consumption (grams per larva) of these two diets by TBW larvae was not significantly different, whereas SCB larvae consumed significantly more of the experimental diet. In most cases, the SCB larvae ate more food, gained more weight, and produced more frass in a 48- and 120-h period when fed the soyflour-corn oil diet than when fed the standard diet. The TBW larvae ate more of the standard diet and produced more frass in a 48-h feeding period; however, food consumption and frass production for these larvae fed both diets were similar for a 120-h feeding period.