ABSTRACT

Once a good, working diet has been developed and adapted to the insectary, it is risky to make changes. In nearly three decades of experience with many insectaries, I have seen countless problems that arose from unplanned or poorly designed changes. Often, such problems began after a considerable period of relative colony stability and successful rearing. Certainly, such problems sometimes came from sources other than diet deviations —from microbial contamination (Chapter 13), environmental changes (Chapters 1 and 15) (unnoticed temperature, humidity, or light changes, for example), genetic problems from inbreeding (Chapter 1), accidental introduction of parasitoids or unwanted commensal species, such as mites and lice, inadvertent introduction of pesticides, and from other hidden contaminants (fumes from newly painted rooms or from other stray sources).