DEMOGRAPHIC-ANALYSIS OF INSECT MASS REARING - A CASE-STUDY OF 3 TEPHRITIDS

Mass-production strategies for insects were examined, using life table techniques. Harvesting of target stages and discarding of reproductives are viewed simply as the imposition of new mortality rates on a population. Demographic formulae are given for computing production rates and stage relations within a rearing facility and for determining age and size structure in released, sterile populations. The methods are applied to data relating to the rearing of 3 tephritid fruit flies-Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), Dacus dorsalis Hendel, and D. cucurbitae Coquillet. Both specific and general implications of the findings are briefly discussed.