Mass-rearing technique for Aleochara bilineata (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae)

Mass-rearing techniques for economic production and storage of large numbers of Aleochara bilineata , (Gyllenhal) (AB) for laboratory use and field studies are described. AB adults caged in plastic containers holding 1 cm of moist sand at 14 degree C, in darkness, readily accepted onion maggot (OM), Delia antiqua (Meigen), larvae as their food source. AB eggs collected from oviposition cages were distributed around OM pupae scattered over the surface of moist sand in similar tightly sealed plastic containers. A minimum of 8 weeks at 1 degree C was necessary to fulfill diapause requirements; diapausing larvae could be held at this temperature for as long as 6 months with no decrease in survival rate. Five hours of labor per week were required to produce ca. 10,000 AB adults per week.