In vitro development of the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hempei (Coleoptera: Scolytidae), in an freeze dry diet

Abstract

Freeze-drying is a useful alternative for the preparation and conservation of the medic diet used for laboratory rearing of Hypothenemus hampei. This process allows preparation of diets for insect rearing without altering the sensory and physicochemical characteristics of the final product, substantially improving traditional stove drying. Humidities of the freeze-dried diet and the stove dried diet were evaluated during 20 days of storage at 27±2ºC. The decrease in humidity in the freeze-dried diet was 10% and in the stove dried diet was 34%. The freeze-dried diet remained stable when stored for 20 days at-15ºC (frozen) and at 4ºC (refrigerated). Forty days after infestation, the average of biological stages in the freeze-dried diet was 48,3 stages/borer, significantly higher (Tukey 5%) than that found in the stove dried diet (15,3). The development of the coffee berry borer from egg to adult was completed in 24 days with 94% efficiency. Toe use of a freeze-dried diet will facilitate the study of protein fractions with toxic activity against digestive enzymes of various insects, which could further be used in plant breeding through molecular biology techniques.