Abstract
The food consumption and the conversion efficiency of ingested food (E.C.I.) to body substance were studied in the larvae of Eupromus ruber which fed on live wood of Persea thumbergii. There were large variations in the food consumption and the E.C.I. among individuals. The larvae consumed about 7-17 g dry weight of food (including the wood excavated to the pupal room), and those volumes were 12-33 cm3. The E.C.I. percentage in larvae gradually decreased with instar progression, and the mean E.C.I. of all instars was 2.18%. The consumed food was also converted to adult body substance with a mean efficiency of 1.67%.
