Abstract:

To promote massive rear of Arma chinensis, the survival rate and developmental period of the larvae and the fecundity of its adult with different host plants and rearing densities were measured indoor. Meanwhile, the larval survival rate curve in different rearing densities was built by Weibull Frequency distribution function, S(t)=exp(-bt^c). The results showed that both the host plant and feeding density could significantly affect development and fecundity of Arma chinensis. With host plant of Ulmus pumila, the average larval survival rate was 82.09%, which is the highest among that with other host, whereas, the survival rate without any host was lowest by only 16.38%, served as CK. No significant difference was observed for developmental period of Arma chinensis larvae with different hosts, except for a little bit longer period without any host. However, the hosts had significant effect on fecundity of Arma chinensis, with the most eggs of 330.89 hatched per female when Ulmus pumila was used as the host, and only 96.64 eggs hatched per female without any host. With Ulmus pumila as host, the larval survival rate of Arma chinensis was greatly affected by rearing density. In lower rearing density, the larval survival rate could all be over 85.56%, but it decreased significantly when more than 40 larvae in one cage. The feeding densities had no correlation with the larval developmental period, although too high or too low densities distinctively decreased the fecundity of adult Arma chinensis.

Key words: Arma chinensis, host plant, rearing density, survival rate, fecundity