STUDIES ON IMPROVEMENT OF ARTIFICIAL DIET AND ITS EFFECT ON BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERS OF CHRYSOPRELA CARNEA (STEPHENS)

In order to improve the artificial diet of adults of Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens) to enhance longevity and fecundity an experiment was conducted in the Biological Control Laboratory, Department of Agricultural Entomology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad during 2004. Five treatments including control comprised of honey, water and yeast in the ratio of 1:1:1, but in each treatment honey was collected from different plant i.e., ber, apple, orange and almond. The control treatment was contained the pre existing standard diet. In fifth and separate treatment vitamin E was added as a supplement with honey (general type) + water + yeast. Significant variations were found to exist among treatments regarding pre-oviposition, oviposition, postoviposition periods, longevity of male and female, fecundity and length of adult. Vitamin E offered to the adults as a supplement diet proved the most suitable resulted in minimum pre-oviposition period (3.27 days), long oviposition (53.71 days) and post-oviposition period (5.90 days), longevity of male (62.54days)and female (66.77 days), fecundity (238.87) and length of adult (8.90mm) of C. carnea. Ber honey was the best resulted in minimum pre-oviposition period (3.46), longer oviposition period (54.95), post-oviposition period (5.10), longevity of male (60 days) and female adults (65.23), fecundity (225.19)and length of adult (7.97) of C. carnea as compared to honey obtained from apple, orange and almond trees.