Growth of Larval Diatraea saccharalis (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) on an Artificial Diet and Synchronization of the Last Larval Stadium1

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Abstract
Sugarcane borers, Diatraea saccharalis (F.) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), were reared successfully on nine different artificial diets. Although male sugarcane borer larvae were equal in weight to females at egg hatch, they pupated in less time and achieved smaller larval maximum and 1-day-old pupal weights. Males completed larval development in five and six stadia and females in six stadia. Growth was larger for larvae completing development in six stadia than in five stadia, irrespective of sex. The peak period for egg hatch and ecdysis was a few hours after lights-on, whereas pupation appeared to occur at random. Ecdysis to the last stadium occurred during days 12 to 14 after egg hatch. By choosing last-stadium 0-day-old borers ≥70 mg and 1-day-old borers ≥140 mg, a synchronous population of last-stadium female sugarcane borers was obtained in which there was a positive correlation of feeding with weight gain, oxygen consumption, and hemolymph osmolality.