抄録
In tropical sericulture, polyvoltine silkworm strains are reared. During the hot dry season from January to April, with shortage of water for irrigation, mulberry leaves become scarce. Under these conditions, rearing larvae on
artificial diet might be an alternative method. On artificial diets, larval growth of 1st to 3rd instar was uniform at 25 ºC, while at 29 ºC growth became uneven. For the 4th and 5th instars, uniform growth was attained at 25 ºC. No diseased or dead larvae were observed. Body weight of the 5th instar larvae and quality of cocoon and cocoon filament were also evaluated. While body weight of matured larvae was comparable with that on fresh mulberry leaves, quality of cocoon and cocoon filament was inferior when reared on artificial diet. Possible reasons for this are discussed.
