Rearing earwig Chelisoches morio (Fabricius) on a variety of artificial diets

Abstract

Black earwig (Chelisoches morio (Fabr.) (Dermaptera: Chelisochidae), is an effective predator of various important pests of crops such as mealybugs, beetles, and stem borers. Earwig mass rearing is considered simple, but it requires a long time to reach the optimal life stages for field releases. The type of artificial food given has at least an influence of lifespan so this study was conducted to determine the types of food that can shorten life cycle of earwig. Feeding trials consisted of combination between mealybugs and dog food, mealybugs and fish and mealybugs with cornmeal. Each treatment had five replications. The results shown that the lifespan of black earwig was 52 days (mealybug + dog food), 62 days mealybug + fish material), and 67 days (mealy bug + cornmeal) respectively. It is suggested that a better artificial food is to shorten lifespan and therefore it is considered to use earwig mass rearing.