Abstract
Culture methods of 3 species of chironomids widely distributed in urban areas in Japan were studied to obtain purified antigens necessary for the accurate diagnoses and desensitization therapies of hypersensitivity to chironomids. It was demonstrated that all the 3 species can be easily cultured from generation to generation in the laboratory. High yields per unit area of mature larvae of Chironomus yoshimatsui and C. flaviplumus were obtained by rearing the newly hatched larvae at densities of 8 and 4 indiv./(cm)^2,respectively, under food dose of 7.5mg/indiv. in the small containers (15cmφ×H9cm) which were spread with sand, filled with water and aerated. Fertilized egg masses of Glyptotendipes tokunagai were successfully obtained even at low adult densities in small containers when the sex ratio (♂/♀) was higher than 2/5. A considerable number of fertilized egg masses of C. flaviplumus were obtained even in a relatively small space when a time period corresponding to dusk was introduced into the illumination cycle and the illumination was reduced to 1 or 2lx in a stepwise manner at "dusk" under the sex ratio (♂/♀) of 2.
