Assessment of Meridic Gel Larval Diet and Meridic Adult Diet for Mass Rearing of Bactrocera dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae)

The oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae), is a widespread pest in Bangladesh. Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) offers a solution for effectively suppressing this fruit fly species. However, SIT involves mass rearing of fruit fly species in a laboratory where a standardized artificial rearing diet is crucial for ensuring uniform growth, development, and reproduction. In this study, we assessed efficacy of a new formulated gelbased meridic larval diet as well as protein and carbohydrate rich adult diets for the rearing of B. dorsalis in a laboratory condition. Proximate analysis was conducted for our formulated rearing diets to determine the content of moisture, protein, fat, carbohydrate, and ash. Several key biological parameters, including egg hatching rate, pupation rate, pupal weight, adult emergence, adult growth, sex ratio, and flight capacity, were assessed. Statistical analysis using Tukey box plots revealed a significant improvement in adult body parameters and an increase in longevity for our formulated diets. In addition, our study presents survival analysis using non-parametric Kaplan-Meier estimator and Weibull parametric model. This study shows that integrating our formulated diets into the mass rearing process of B. dorsalis in a laboratory could significantly improve the production of larger and healthier flies on a large scale.