John, C. Schneider, editor
Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS
2009; 352 Pages, ISBN 978-0-615-31190-6
Price: $75 (hardcover)

Principles and Procedures for Rearing High Quality Insects offers just what the title claims. Well organized and indexed, it will serve anyone who raises insects as an excellent reference for setting up new cultures or improving current cultures. Each chapter begins with an outline and ends with a conclusion and a solid set of references. Real case studies throughout tie the book to practical, real-world rearing.
 

The cover illustration depicts the nine topics as pieces of a puzzle, all with connections to each other: 1) facility design, 2) facility management, 3) health and safety, 4) genetics, 5) environmental biology, 6) nutrition and diet, 7) microbial management, 8) quality control, and 9) production. The final chapter chronicles Dr. Frank Davis’ odyssey of over 35 years to high-tech mass production of lepidopterous larvae, the many important lessons learned along the way, and detailed information on sources for materials.
 

In the preface, John Schneider explains, “The impetus for this book came from the five-day insect rearing workshop, “Principles and Procedures for Rearing High Quality Insects,” held at least annually since 2000 at the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Mississippi State University…The person ultimately responsible for this book is Dr. Frank Davis of Mississippi…who conceived the workshop and book, attracted instructors and authors to contribute, and provided the coordination and enthusiasm to sustain the effort to completion.”
 

Until I read Frank Davis’ case study on rearing the southwestern corn borer, my favorite chapter was “The Environmental Biology of Insect Rearing” by editor John Schneider, probably because he introduced me to some physical requirements of insects that I was not previously aware of. Experience eventually teaches every one of us that we can lose an insect culture within a few generations and we often have no idea why. It could be that we do not understand their light, temperature, or humidity requirements. I was fascinated by the importance of the interaction between photoperiods and cycling temperatures on the performance of insects. Throughout the chapter, 23 single-sentence tips in break-out boxes address many of the ways that light and temperature will affect production. For example, in the section on light periodicity and flicker frequency, Tip 6 cautions “Consider using three-phase lighting, which has a 360-Hz flicker, when rearing fast-flying, diurnal insects.”
 

The thorough coverage of microbes by Inglis and Sikorowski addresses their importance in the mass production of insects, particularly on artificial media. Microbial contamination and entomopathogens comprise more than a third of the book.  Constant attention to minimizing microbial contaminant levels is essential and addressed from every conceivable angle. The chapter on microbial contamination is a tribute to Peter P. Sikorowski, a pioneer in this field, who died before the chapters were complete.
 

Norm Leppla contributes to an opening review of the history of modern insect rearing, and includes a hair-raising description of screwworm production, at least to anyone who understands the smells that emanate from the rearing media described. Fisher and Leppla give well-rounded reviews of facility design, management, and quality control. Reinecke covers Health and Safety for personnel including both general hazards and hazards “peculiar to insectaries.” He discusses ways to forestall insect allergies and avoid exposure to pathogens, whose descriptions made me squirm. Chaudhury’s review of insect feeding and nutrition condenses an enormous literature into 22 pages and keeps it understandable for those that can tolerate reading some chemical names. He includes commonly used diet ingredients such as honey, sucrose, casein, and yeast and describes what each can contribute to insect nutrition.

The content was contributed by authors primarily familiar with mass production of pest species for field research, virus production, or sterile insect releases. My particular interest is production of natural enemies, and I am therefore extremely interested in the physical and logistical parameters of production that the book addresses. Topics not addressed in this book are predator-prey and parasite-host measurements and balance. Also, predatory mites generate the majority of sales in the biological control industry, but were not addressed in this book.
My first experience with insect production was as a student helper in 1975 raising gypsy moth larvae on artificial diet, infesting them with virus, and then harvesting the virus-diseased larvae. In the 36 years since then, I have made up a number of alternative refrains to Paul Simon’s song “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.” My version, “50 Ways to Kill a Culture,” includes phrases like “Just change the lights, Dwight; try a new plan, Stan…” Thus, I found much in the book that I could relate to. Overall, this book is a valuable read for even the most seasoned insectary manager.

Carol S. Glenister
IPM Laboratories, Inc.
Locke, NY, 13092
E-mail: carolg@ipmlabs.com

American Entomologist
Vol. 57, No.3, Fall 2011