Study On Biological Characteristics Of Zophobas Atratus Fab And Its Conditions Of Artificial Feeding

Zophobas atratus Fab, originated from South Africa and Central Africa, is a kind of new-type resource entomology introduced from the Southeast Asian countries to China. Zophobas atratus Fab is the most ideal feed insect for artificial culture. The larva features high content of protein, rich nutriments and broad market prospect. Although Zophobas atratus Fab and Tenebrio molitor have much difference in living habits, many breeders have no idea about it. Therefore, Tenebrio molitor is breed through method for breeding Zophobas atratus Fab with the consequence of ending in failure in most cases. Nowadays, there are many enthusiasts for breeding Zophobas atratus Fab, but most of them suffer from huge economic losses due to lack of professional guidance and key technical report on artificial breeding of Zophobas atratus Fab. Again, this also become the key factor for impeding the sound development of breeding industry. To this end, the growth and development, reproduction biology and artificial breeding conditions of Zophobas atratus Fab is studied to define the main characters of growth, development and breeding. Discussing the influences of different feed formulations, thickness of feed layer and feeding density on growth speed and adult egg laying amount of larva of Zophobas atratus Fab provides theoretical basis and technical references for scientific breeding of Zophobas atratus Fab. The main research results are listed as bellows:1. Under the feeding conditions of25～30℃、RH50%～70%as well as natural scattered light, etc. the average development duration of Zophobas atratus Fab eggs is7days; that of larva is about105～136days; that of pupa period is about9days. The growth of larva of Zophobas atratus Fab is irregular, usually peeling for13～15times and living for14～16years old. Again, the larva1～13years old grows quickly, and the development rate of larva of more than13years old becomes increasingly slow as they become older.2. During the whole growth period, the larva of Zophobas atratus Fab showcases the characteristic of non-uniform growth.0～60d:the slow growth period;60～90d: the fast growth period;90～100d:rapid decline in growth speed; after100d:the trough period of growth.3. Average hatching rate of the eggs of Zophobas atratus Fab is78.6%; the average prepupa rate of mature larva is95.0%; the average rate of pupation is90.4%; the average emergence rate of adults is97.5%(♀) and98.1%(♂). There are no remarkable differences in emergence rate of female and male adults.4. The sex ratio of female and male adults of Zophobas atratus Fab is around1:1. The copulation process of the adults mainly includes three phases:holding before copulation, inserting and insemination and holding after copulation. The average times of copulation and inserting of the adult of Zophobas atratus Fab in the daytime are more than that in the evening. It thus can be seen that adults of Zophobas atratus Fab are fond of copulation in the evening. In addition, there lies the phenomenon that the adults often repeat inserting and insemination.5. Under the conditions for matching of different males and females, the differences in average times and time of copulation of adult males and females of Zophobas atratus Fab is quite remarkable. The males and females perform mass matching. Particularly, the increase in quantity of adult males is favorable for stimulating the mating of males and females of Zophobas atratus Fab.6. Under the conditions of1♀+1(?),1♀+2(?),2♀+1(?) and2♀+2(?) the daily change rules of female adults in initial spawning days, spawning duration and egg laying quantity are basically the same. What’s more, Zophobas atratus Fab could lay eggs if isolated from the female. However, compared with experimental group of1♀+1(?),1♀+2(?),2♀+1(?) and2♀+2(?) initial spawning days of parthenogenetic adults are greatly delayed, and the spawning duration is also significantly reduced.7. In case that the average growth rate is seen as the objective function, the quadratic regression rotatable orthogonality is performed to optimize the artificial feeding of the larva of Zophobas atratus Fab. As a result, the optimal feeding conditions for larva of Zophobas atratus Fab at different growth periods are as follows: 0～30d:the proportion of fish meal and bean flour in the feed is respectively6.9～7.6%and6.3～7.0%; the thickness of feed is0.5～0.6cm; feed density is104～1211/vessel;30～60d:the proportion of fish meal and bean flour in the feed is respectively6.4～7.6%and7.6～8.4%; the thickness of feed is0.5～0.6cm; feed density is53～611/vessel;60～90d:the proportion of fish meal and bean flour in the feed is respectively7.2～7.9%and6.6～7.3%; the thickness of feed is0.7～0.8cm; feed density is84～981/vessel.8. In case that the cumulative quantity of spawned eggs of every female adult within60days is taken the objective function, the quadratic regression rotatable orthogonality is performed to optimize the artificial feeding of the larva of Zophobas atratus Fab. Consequently, the proportion of fish meal and bean flour is7.1～7.9%and6.3～7.2%; Thickness of the breeding is0.4～0.5cm and the density of the breeding is96～112pair/box.