Colonization and bionomics of Forcipomyia taiwana (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in the laboratory

An improvement in colonizing tile biting midge Forcipomyia taiwana (Shiraki) was achieved by a new technique that facilitated the rearing of the midges and induced them to mate in the laboratory. At temperatures of 15, 20, 25, and 30 degrees C, tile developmental duration of the egg, 4 larval instars, and pupa decreased as temperature increased. Among 7 different diets, die blue green algae, Anabaena sp.Ch3, was the best food for rearing the midges. When the larvae were fed on the blue green algae at 25 degrees C, they needed 12 d to pupate, the pupation rate was 71.4%, the emergence rate was 80.2%, anti tire average longevity of the male and the female 38.3 and 22.6 d, respectively. When 120 pairs were kept in a plastic cage (60 by GO by 60 cm), swarming and copulation occurred during 0700-0900 and 1700-1800 hours. Swarm occurred throughout the cage and consisted of 10 malts. The copulation was performed on the wall and the bottom of tile cage, and the average duration was 290 s.