Abstract
The cabbage armyworm, Mamestra brassicae L. was reared for two generations aseptically from the 1st to the 5th instar and semi-aseptically during the last (6th) instar on the artificial diets I and II, in which main ingredients were soy been flour (I) and wheat bran (II). Mamestra larvae reared on the diet I were superior to the one reared on the diet II so far as mean weight of larva and pupa was concerned. In the mean weight of pupa and the rate of pupation, the artificial diets I and II were superior to cabbage leaf. It was also investigated whether six species of lepidopterous larvae other than M. brassicae could grow on the same artificial diets I and II. It turned out that diamondback moth (Pluttella xyostella L.) and mulberry caterpillar (Mamestra illoba BUTLER) could be reared for 2-3 generations on these diets, while five other species were only for one generation.
