Influence of Seasons and Inoculum Dosages on the Production Efficiency of Corcyra cephalonica Stainton

Corcyra cephalonica is a laboratory host used for multiplication of parasitoids, predators and entomopathogens. The present study is aimed to understand the effect of seasons and inoculum dosages of Corcyra eggs on the production efficiency. Egg production ranged from 3.1 to 5.8 cc per box during the different seasons and minimum production being recorded during dry months. The dosages tested were 0.5, 0.25 and 0.125 cc of Corcyra eggs / rearing box. Maximum per cent moth emergence (83.5%), shorter developmental duration (40.4 days) and higher fecundity (467 no.) of emerged moths were recorded in the boxes with 0.125 cc (2000 eggs) inoculum. Validation of experiments indicated that compared to the boxes with 0.5 cc inoculum, a 2.15, 1.44, 1.35 and 1.49 times increase in average production per box from 0.125cc infested boxes more during monsoon, post monsoon, dry and summer months, respectively. The data generated can be utilized for improving the protocol for mass rearing of Corcyra cephalonica.