Comparing efficacy of mixed larval diets on the developmental attributes of anopheles arabiensis patton

A comparison test was conducted on three mixed diets consisting of ingredients from natural grains and commercial brand aquaculture foods. anopheles arabiensis patton larvae were reared on these diets separately under standard rearing conditions at the insect pest control laboratories (ipcl),iaea,seibersdorf,austria. time to pupation,time to emergence,survival to pupal and to adult stages,and adult wing length measurements were recorded and taken into account as parameters for diet comparison. all three diets resulted in development of larvae to pupae and to the adult stage. significant reductions in time to pupation and to emergence were recorded for larvae fed diet 1 (nifa1) composed of natural ingredients. diet 1 resulted in the shortest larval duration,highest survival rate and longest wing length for both male and females. body length of the 4 instar (l4) was also largest for diet 1,but was not significantly different from other diets. addition of vitamin mix to diet 1 did not improve its quality as measured by larval duration,survival and emergence success. © 2011 zoological society of pakistan.