Methods for rearing the Asian longhorned beetle (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) on artificial diet

Abstract

The Asian longhorned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky), was recently introduced to the United States and has the potential to destroy many urban and forest trees. A successful artificial diet and rearing protocol are urgently needed, because research with this woodboring beetle can be conducted only in the confined areas of quarantines. We compared larval growth and adult parameters using three artificial diets, one developed in China for A. glabripennis and two developed for other members of the Lamiini. The only difference in performance of larvae and adults reared on the three diet types was that nondiapausing larvae reared on Monochamus carolinensis (Olivier) diet needed less time to pupate than nondiapausing larvae on A. glabripennis diet. We further evaluated substituting the phloem-cambium of sugar maple, Acer saccharum Marshall, with sawdust or cellulose. Males grew fastest on diets with sawdust or phloem-cambium and remained as pupae for the shortest period of time on A. glabripennis diet. Females grew faster on diets with cellulose than sawdust and lived longest on A. glabripennis diet. The published A. glabripennis artificial diet, modified by increasing the water content from 50.0 to 65.6% (wt:wt) and substituting the phloem-cambium component with cellulose, was the optimal diet tested. A rearing protocol used to maintain our colony is included.