Comparison of two meridic diets for rearing the coffee berry borer Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari)

Abstract

To rear the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei, two medic diets have been devel­oped, one in New Caledonia (B) and the other in Mexico (V). The efficiency of these diets was studied under laboratory conditions (T=27 ± 1°C; R.H.=70-80%), using two dif­ferent containers to test the diet V: labora­tory test tubes (V1) and plastic cups (V2) and only cups for diet B. Results showed that the borer develops better in the V diet but less contamination is produced using the plastic cups. The average production (X ± SD) of biological stages per individual successfully reproduced in the different diets, after 40 days, was 12.5 ± 9.38 for B diet, 48.5 ± 21.3 for V2 diet and 55.3 ± 15.9 for Vi. When the average adult production was analyzed, it was found to be 1.38, 13.0, and 15.36, for diets B, V1, and V2, respectively. The diet efficiency measured according to the number of con­tainers in which the insect reproduced suc­cessfully was 50.0% for diet V2, 47.72 for V1, and 38.54 for B. The oviposition was greater in diets V1 and V2, reaching a sec­ond peak 40 days later, which corresponds to the second generation.