AN IMPROVED TECHNIQUE FOR REARING THE RED CEDAR TIP MOTH, HYPSIPYLA-ROBUSTA MOORE (LEPIDOPTERA, PYRALIDAE)

Hypsipyla robusta, a significant pest of a number of economically impo rtant species of Meliaceae in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia , Africa, and Australia, was successfully reared in the laboratory for 23 generations on a synthetic diet. Two major modifications were made to the original rearing technique: (i) confining the newly hatched la rvae close to the diet; and (ii) introducing a current of air through the mating cage. The modified technique reduced the mortality of newly hatched larvae to acceptable levels and effectively solved the proble m of mating difficulty in indoor cages. Mortality of newly hatched lar vae due to non-feeding may be further reduced by incorporating host-pl ant tissue or host-plant extract to the diet. Performance of the colon y as compared with other artificial colonies of the insect in terms of pupal weight, fecundity and generation time is discussed.