ARS | Publication request: Optimal diet for production of normative adults of the Diaprepes root weevil, Diaprepes abbreviatus

Submitted to: Florida Entomological Society Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: June 5, 2009
Publication Date: July 28, 2009
Citation: Lapointe, S.L., Niedz, R.P., Evens, T.J., Hall, D.G. 2009. Optimal diet for production of normative adults of the Diaprepes root weevil, Diaprepes abbreviatus [abstract]. Florida Entomological Society Annual Meeting. A#32.

Technical Abstract: Insect diets are complex mixtures of vitamins, salts, preservatives, and nutrients (carbohydrates, lipids and proteins). To determine the effect of varying the doses of multiple components, the traditional approach requires large factorial experiments resulting in very large numbers of treatment combinations and multiple interaction terms that are difficult to interpret. Geometric multivariate designs can greatly reduce the labor involved in optimization of diet blends. We constructed a four-component design that included three principal drivers identified previously and added cellulose as a non-nutritive filler that could be scaled to produce adults of a desired mass. The dataset allows us to prescribe diet recipes to produce adults within a wide range of mass, including that of feral weevils.