Story of Tegosept in Insects Artificial Diet: Challenge the Future Research
Sri Nur Aminah

Department of Pests and Plant Diseases,
Faculty of Agriculture, Hasanuddin University
Makassar INDONESIA

Fulbright Visiting Scholar
Department of Integrative Biology
University of Colorado Denver, USA

Abstract

Artificial diet technology as the very important factor in mass rearing insects in the laboratory. The common problem used insect artificial diet that presence of microbial when applied in insect target. The controlling microbial growth such as fungi in the artificial diet as important key component preparing valuable food for insect development. Impact of humidity and temperature to artificial diet on feeding time giving many opportunities fungi development on the media. Since few years ago, the stalk-eye flies Teleopsis dalmanni (Diptera: Diopsidae) have been mass rearing in the artificial diet based maize grain. The one famous component against microbial growth on insect artificial diet used Tegosept. As antimicrobial growth, Tegosept have been applied in the food of T. dalmanni to control fungi growth. The purpose of research is to study role of Tegosept as anti fungi in artificial diet of T. dalmanni. The research was conducted in June through July 2021 at CU Denver Integrative Biology Research Lab, Department of Integrative Biology, University of Colorado Denver, USA. The artificial diet for T. dalmanni based from maize seeds for feeding adult. The observation focused kind of fungi growth in the artificial diet and effective storage periods as food source of T. dalmanni. The observation was showed dominant fungi colonies collected from artificial diet identified as Rhizopus sp. Commonly Rhizopus sp. started growth at two days after adult feeding on the artificial diet. The presence of Mucor sp. full grown at 7 days in the observation, humidity 60 percent and temperature 26 Celcius degree. The another fungi identified as Mucor sp. started growth almost similar condition with Rhizopus sp. The observation showed Tegosept cannot inhibit fungi growth in artificial diet since second days. Conclusion of laboratory observation showed: Rhizopus sp. and Mucor sp. still living in the artificial diet contain Tegosept.

Keywords: Artificial diet, Teleopsis dalmanni, Tegosept, Rhizopus sp., Mucor sp.

Topic: Emerging Technologies in Agricultural Production Systems