EXERCISE I

Insect Rearing for Entomological Research

INTRODUCTION

Insect rearing is the first step towards any successful entomological study.
Providing test organisms that are of the same characteristics (place of origin, stage, age,
sex, and nutrition), rearing increases the precision of the experiment by decreasing
variability of factors in the study (Heong et al., 2011). One can be assured, therefore, of
the credibility and reliability of the gathered data. Similarly, insect rearing is an essential
aspect in biological control of insect pests. Through rearing, exponential production of
natural enemy is possible, thus, existing demand can be satisfied (Kumar et al., 2017).

OBJECTIVES
This exercise is designed for students to:
1. Get a firsthand experience in the mass rearing of a specific insects
2. Appreciate the efforts placed in the production of quality specimens for
entomological work; and
3. Obtain specimens for future exercises.

METHODOLOGY
1. Choose an insect that is readily available in your area. Do not take beetles and
cockroaches as their life cycles take many months to be completed.
2. Collect adults of your chosen insect. Collect as many as you can.
NOTE: Make sure that you are collecting only one species. Discard any insect that
is not morphologically identical with the rest of your test population.
3. Place the adults in rearing cages or containers. See to it that the conditions of
the natural habitat where the insect lives and lays its eggs are closely imitated. For
example, if your insect lays its eggs on soil, put a sufficient layer of soil in your
rearing container.
4. Provide food for your insects by placing its host plant inside the container. Do
not disturb the egg laying, its subsequent growth and development, place the whole
plant, if possible. If not, you can try extending the life of the plant parts by keeping
them soaked in water (or you can try other effective techniques).
5. Observe your insects and record the data needed in worksheet 1.1. Accomplish
worksheet 1.2 and 1.3.

PRECAUTIONS
In rearing your insects, the following precautions must be observed:
1. Do not overcrowd your insects. This may cause stress which may lead to insect
mortality. For other species, they may resort to cannibalism
2. Keep your rearing cages or containers dry and clean to avoid pathogen infections.
Remove dead insects daily.
3. Do not introduce unhealthy specimens. Discard injured, or unhealthy insects.
4. Examine your host plants and soil (if applicable) before introducing them to your
containers. Remove any possible predator, parasitoid, or competitor of your insect.
5. Keep your rearing cages or containers away from ants, mice, cats, and other
possible threats.
6. Do not place your rearing cages or containers in direct sunlight. The heat may
become too intense and may kill the specimens.

Insect Rearing
Name: BATALANG, Jesie
BAY-AN, Joe-ann
CANGGAT, Heidie
GALAMBAS, Divina
Section: BSA 3D
Worksheet 1.1
The Life History of House flies (Musca domestica)
PARAMETERS
Collected specimens
Number of collected adults
If possible, number of
female adult
If possible, number of male
adult
Description of adults
Exercise 1
Date Accomplished: March 27, 2023
Date Submitted: March 29, 2023
46
19
27
Female:
 Females often have larger wings.
 The thorax is gray with four equally broad
dark longitudinal stripes on the dorsum.
 Abdomen has yellowish sides on the basal
half; the posterior portion is brownish-
black and a dark longitudinal line extends
along the middle of the dorsum.
 The legs are blackish-brown. Below and
behind the place of attachment of each
wing is a bulb-shaped stalked structure
called a haltere.
 In the female, eyes are more widely
spaced apart.
 Have less hair than male.
 The abdomen of the female has 9
segment.
Male:
 Males have substantially longer legs than
females.
 In the male, the pair of big compound
eyes practically touch.
 Male flies have more hair.

Host plant
Egg
Time and date of oviposition
Total number of eggs laid
The behavior of egg laying (i.e.
laid singly or clustered,
staggered or laid all at once,
etc…)
Place of oviposition (i.e. stalk,
flowers, underside of leaves,
side of leaves, etc…)
Description of the egg
If possible, size of the egg (in
mm)
Date of hatching
The average length of egg
incubation (in days)
Larva/Nymph
Description of the newly
hatched larvae/nymphs
If possible, the size of the
newly hatched larvae/nymphs
(in mm)
Feeding behavior of newly
hatched larvae/nymphs (i.e.
 The male abdomen has 8 segment.
Rice with banana peel was placed on the top of
rice bran to maintain the moisture.
March 3, 2023
Approximately 60 eggs
Laid singly
Below the paper that was place at the top of the
leftover food
The banana-shaped eggs are 1-1.2mm long,
each egg us elongated with bluntly rounded egg.
Opal-white to cream colored. Placed of eggs are
deposited by the female fly in moist putrefying
organic matter provided.
1.2 mm in length
3/04/23
One day
A freshly hatched larva is about 2 mm. long,
white, soft, cylindrical, legless and headless
creature that called maggot. The body is narrow
and tapering in front and thicker behind. It is
covered by an exoskeleton of thin cuticle. The
head is small and thin. They look very similar to
wriggly worms.
2 mm
They prefer and moist and dark places. They are
gregarious insect.
young shoots only, night
feeder, gregarious, etc.)
Number or larval/nymphal
instar and corresponding days
per instar
The total length of the
larval/nymphal stage (in days)
Description of each larval
/nymphal instar
Size of each larval nymphal
instar (in cm)
The behavior of each larval
nymphal instar (i.e. how do
they feed, solidary or
gregarious, etc.)
Pupa (if applicable)
Pre-pupation activity (if
applicable) (i.e. web-spinning,
leaf rolling etc.)
Date of pupation
Number of pupae
Description of pupa
First instar larva: 1 day
Second instar larva: 2 days
Third instar larva: 3 days
6 days
First instar larva: Freshly-hatched larva. Small
in size 5 mm in length. Soft, typical creamy
whitish color, cylindrical, legless and headless
creature.
Second instar larva: The larvae measure in 10
mm. Maggots immediately begin feeding on and
developing in the material in which the egg was
laid. They can move around the container where
they placed.
Third instar larva: The larval is full-grown
maggot, 12 to 15 mm long, has a greasy,
cream-colored appearance. Can crawl up to 50
feet to a dry, cool place near breeding material
and transform to the pupal stage.
First instar larva: 0.5 cm
Second instar larva: 1 cm
Third instar larva: 1.2 cm- 1.5 cm
Sociable and passive eaters. They can manage
to move in other places. Their body is flexible
even in small holes.
Migrates away and seeking for a suitable
pupation site.
03/12/23
36
In this stage, the white colorless maggots or
larvae develop and look similar to adult flies. The
pupa looks for a suitable location for this
developing stage.
During this stage, the pupa fly does not feed and
remains stationary.
 The pupal stage, about 8 mm long, is passed in
a pupal case formed from the last larval skin
which varies in color from yellow, red, brown, to
black as the pupa ages. The pupa is protected
through last, hard larval skin, which encloses the
pupa called as the puparium.
Length of the pupal stage (in
8mm
mm)

Adult

Date of adult emergence 03/24/23

Number of emerged adults 18 but others still pupa, on the process

If possible, number of
12
emerged female adults
If possible, number of
6
emerged male adults

Mortalities

Number of eggs that did not

None
emerge

Description of eggs that did not

None
emerge

Number of larvae/nymphs that

did not pupate/reached Approximately 24
adulthood

Description of larvae/nymphs The larva did not pupate because the container
that did not pupate/ reach where they were placed was very dry and they
adulthood don’t have enough food.

Number of pupae that did not

None
emerge

Description of pupae that did

None
not emerge
 Worksheet 1.2

Figure 1. Egg of House flies (Musca domestica) Figure 2. First instar larva/nymph of
House flies (Musca domestica)
Eggs

Figure 3. Second instar larva/nymph of House Figure 4. Third instar larva/nymph

flies (Musca domestica) House flies (Musca domestica)

Figure 5. Pupa of House flies (Musca domestica) Figure 6. Female adult of House flies
(Musca domestica)
Figure 7. Male adult of housefly House flies Figure 8. Egg of House flies (Musca
(Musca domestica) domestica) did not pupate

Figure 9. Larvae/nymph of House flies (Musca Figure 10. Pupa of House flies (Musca
domestica) that did not pupate domestica) did not emerge

Set up for the rearing of House flies (Musca Set up for the rearing of House flies
domestica) (Musca domestica)

Adult of House flies (Musca domestica) Adult of House flies (Musca domestica)
 Worksheet 1.3

1. What were the problems you encountered while rearing your insect? How did you
handle these problems?

Problems Solution

Problem #1: The rearing cage is not
secure very well for if we are to put food
in their tub food, some insects can
escape.
Problem #2: Some small ants have enter
the rearing cage.
Problem #3: The food of the
housefly has hardened or no
moisture at all that made it dry.
Problem #4: Some larvae are
found dead outside the food tub
because of having no food.
Solution #1: The rearing cage must be
well fixed in order to minimize losing or
escaping housefly.
Solution #2: The rearing cage must be
place on a higher from ground area or it
can be hanged so that ants and other
crawling organism could not enter it.
Solution #3: Monitor the food and
maintain moisture in it.
Solution #4: Monitor the larvae
stage and put it back to the food
tub.

Problem #5: In pupa stage, it is Solution #5: We based it on visual

hard to identify which one is observation, which we separate the pupa
already to about turn adult. based on their color (dirty white, red,
brown, darkbrown).

2. What were the possible reasons of your egg, larva, pupal, or adult mortality?

The possible reasons of the egg, larva/nymphal, pupal or adult mortality is due to
the insufficient moisture for the egg, the effect of cold weather because mostly the legless
maggot emerges from the egg in warm weather and the pupae did not complete their
development through the required days and temperature for emerging which is two to six
days at 32 to 37°C, but require 17 to 27 days at about 14°C).

3. Suggest on how you can further improve your rearing technique.

To improve rearing technique we must consider the short life cycle, high biotic
potential, simple food requirement, and alternative hosts that the reared insect have and
need. Having a well secured rearing cage helps to avoid escaping insects and avoid other
insects to enter the cage. Have a set plan or data sheet with dates to have a continuous
and accurate record of the insect metamorphosis. If mortality is seen, remove it so that it
would not affect the other insects especially in their larvae and adult stage.