Establishing and maintaining colonies of Forcipomyia taiwana in the laboratory

Abstract

Successful colonies of the biting midge Forcipomyia taiwana (Shiraki) were established and maintained in the laboratory by feeding blood with an artificial blood-feeding apparatus, rearing larvae on a soil substrate employing algae liquid, and setting suitable mating cages. The feeding rates of F. taiwana fed on pig blood (69.9%) and artificial blood (72.7%) were not significantly different from those fed on human blood (67.0%). The mean numbers of adults produced by females fed on the artificial blood and the human blood were 32.0 and 33.0, respectively. The algae liquid, Chlorella vulgaris, was suitable for rearing larvae, with larval hatching rate, pupation rate, and emergence rate of midges fed with artificial blood and human blood meal cohorts observed as 76.0%-88.8%, 98.2%-96.4%, and 98.0-94.3%, respectively. Swarming and copulation occurred 1 h before and 2 h after the lights were turned on (07:00-10:00). The average female mating rates were approximately 50-60%, and males were observed to mate with multiple females.