A method for extending the breeding season of dead leaf butterfly

Abstract

The invention discloses a method for extending the breeding season of dead leaf butterfly, including: from late August to early September, high temperature and long light treatment are continuously performed on the pupal stage and the newly emerged 0-7 day old adults, the temperature and light treatment during the sensitive insect period is carried out in an air-conditioned room, the light source used between 7:30-17:30 during the day is natural light, and an artificial light source is used when supplementary light is needed after 17:30, and the artificial light source used is a 200W halogen tungsten lamp. The treated newly emerged adults are stocked in a simple greenhouse, which is a polyethylene plastic shed lined with a 60% shading rate sunshade net. The temperature conditions of the air-conditioned insect breeding room are 20℃-25℃, the humidity is 50-80%, and the temperature conditions of the air-conditioned eclosion room are 22℃-26℃, the humidity is 70-90%, and natural light is used. The present invention prevents the occurrence of autumn reproductive diapause of adults of the dead leaf butterfly by regulating temperature and light conditions, and continuously reproduces under suitable conditions, carries out large-scale artificial breeding in late autumn and winter, and ensures a stable supply of live adults in winter and spring.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of butterfly breeding, and in particular to a method for extending the breeding season of leaf butterfly. Background Art

[0002] Kallimainachus (Doyére, 1840), also known as wood leaf butterfly, dead leaf butterfly, wood leaf butterfly, Chinese dead leaf butterfly and leaf butterfly, is a large butterfly of the Nymphalidae subfamily Nymphalinae. In China, the dead leaf butterfly is naturally distributed in various places south of the Qinling-Huaihe line, and is mainly produced in the Yangtze River Basin, with a small number in other places. The distribution of this butterfly abroad starts from Ryukyu, Ishigaki Island, and Iriomote Island in Japan in the east, and ends in the southern foot of the northwest section of the Himalayas in the west. In nature, the dead leaf butterfly mainly lives in broad-leaved woodlands at an altitude of 500-1200m. Adults are mostly active in forests and forest edges, although sometimes they appear in plains and even cities. Adults feed on exudates or fermented fruits from broad-leaved tree trunks, and the larvae host plants are various Acanthaceae plants. In the low-altitude areas of Mount Emei, Sichuan, under near-natural conditions, the dead leaf butterfly is a polymorphic species that can produce three generations a year, with the first and second generations being the main ones, and overwintering as adults. Most of the first-generation female adults and the second-generation female adults that emerged before mid-August participate in the current year's reproduction, and a small number enter reproductive dormancy. The vast majority of the third-generation female adults and the second-generation female adults that emerged after mid-August enter reproductive dormancy. Finally, the dormant individuals in the three generations gather into a wintering adult population (Zhou Chengli et al., 2005).

[0003] After years of exploration, as one of the main butterfly species in the current domestic butterfly ecological viewing garden, the main biological characteristics of the dead leaf butterfly have been relatively clear, and its artificial breeding has achieved certain results. The supply problem of live adults of the dead leaf butterfly in its natural occurrence season has been alleviated to a certain extent in recent years. According to its natural life history, the production of dead leaf butterflies in various parts of the south can generally be cultivated for two generations. The spring temperature is suitable, and there are fewer natural enemies and pathogens. It is the most suitable period of the year for breeding dead leaf butterflies. In summer, there are many extreme weather such as high temperature, heavy rain, and strong winds. In addition, a large number of pathogens have accumulated in the breeding sites, which can easily cause epidemics and are quite unfavorable for the breeding of dead leaf butterflies. After mid-August, since most adults of dead leaf butterflies enter reproductive dormancy, it is often difficult for general breeders to obtain enough butterfly eggs for large-scale breeding. Therefore, general breeding farms use spring as the main breeding season.

[0004] The autumn generation breeding of the dead leaf butterfly is crucial to improving the overall economic benefits of the artificial breeding of the dead leaf butterfly and ensuring the supply of butterflies in butterfly gardens. In the subtropical low-altitude areas of my country, the growth period of the blue plant, the host plant of the dead leaf butterfly, can last until mid-November or even later. The large stock of host plant leaves provides material guarantee for autumn breeding. Due to less high temperature and heavy rain, autumn is another suitable season for artificial breeding of the dead leaf butterfly after spring. In autumn, male and female adults in reproductive dormancy can be produced almost under near-natural conditions and at a low cost. These adults in reproductive diapause have a very long lifespan and can be kept under near-natural conditions. They can be continuously supplied until early April of the following year, and the storage cost is extremely low. From September to the following spring every year, the supply of live butterflies continues to be tight, and the winter adult reserve is very critical to ensure the normal operation of ecological butterfly gardens in various places.

[0005] Both research and production practice have shown that the pupae of the dead leaf butterfly have poor tolerance to low temperatures and are difficult to store at low temperatures for a long time; the lifespan of the adults that develop directly in the summer (non-dormant) is also short, especially under high temperature conditions, and it is difficult to store them for a long time. The unsalable and falling prices of the products produced in the summer have dampened the production enthusiasm of farmers in spring breeding. In addition, the inherent difficulties in summer breeding have greatly reduced the production of the summer generation of dead leaf butterflies, which in turn affects the supply of live adults in autumn and the spring of the following year. The current contradiction between the supply and demand of dead leaf butterflies in the market has changed from the initial insufficient production of live adults to the contradiction between the highly seasonal supply of live adults and the year-round balanced demand of butterfly gardens, and sometimes even a situation of oversupply has occurred. The continuation of this situation is extremely unfavorable for both farmers and butterfly gardens.

[0006] Reproductive dormancy is an adaptive characteristic of the dead leaf butterfly formed in the long-term evolution process, and has a significant impact on the artificial breeding of the dead leaf butterfly. Although Zhao Chunsheng and Li Dehai (2009) proposed to set up a breeding and egg-laying greenhouse in the low temperature season (mid-October to mid-June of the following year) in the northern region for adults to continue to lay eggs, they did not consider how to prevent the dead leaf butterfly from natural reproductive diapause in autumn. Without artificial intervention, in various parts of my country, based on the genetic characteristics of the dead leaf butterfly species currently used in production, adults that usually emerge in late August will enter reproductive diapause, and even under suitable temperature and humidity conditions, they will stop courting, mating and laying eggs, and autumn breeding is actually impossible to implement. Summary of the invention

[0007] In view of the above-mentioned shortcomings, the present invention artificially prevents the occurrence of autumn adult diapause of the dead leaf butterfly, prolongs the late autumn breeding period, thereby increasing its autumn breeding generations, ensuring the supply of living adults in winter and spring, and improving the economic benefits of butterfly breeding farms.

[0008] The present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0009] A method for extending the breeding season of leaf butterfly, comprising:

[0010] (1) From late August to early September, the pupae and newly emerged 0-7-day-old adults were continuously exposed to high temperature and long light in an air-conditioned room, and sprayed with water until the adults were 7 days old;

[0011] (2) After high temperature and light treatment, newly emerged adults are released into a simple greenhouse to mate and lay eggs. The eggs are raised in an air-conditioned insect rearing room, and the pupae are raised in an air-conditioned emergence room under natural light conditions.

[0012] Furthermore, the high temperature and long light treatment conditions in step (1) are: the high temperature is 23°C-27°C, and the long light is LD14-16: 10-8h.

[0013] Furthermore, the environment in the air-conditioned room in step (1) is:

[0014] Indoor humidity conditions are 70%-90%;

[0015] The lighting conditions are:

[0016] The light source used from 7:30 to 17:30 is natural light, and artificial light is needed after 17:30 to extend the lighting time.

[0017] Furthermore, the artificial light source is a 200W tungsten halogen lamp.

[0018] Furthermore, the spray water replenishment treatment in step (1) includes:

[0019] The pupae were sprayed with water every 2 days;

[0020] Spray the adults with water once a day.

[0021] Furthermore, the simple greenhouse in step (2) is:

[0022] The shed is constructed with a polyethylene plastic shed lined with a 60% shading net.

[0023] Furthermore, the eggs in step (2) are incubated in an air-conditioned insect-raising room including:

[0024] Larvae of the 1st to 3rd instar are raised on host plants in a plastic film greenhouse, and larvae after the 4th instar are moved into an air-conditioned insect breeding room for rearing.

[0025] Further, the environment of the air-conditioned insect breeding room is:

[0026] The temperature is 20℃-25℃, the humidity is 50-80%, the indoor temperature conditions of air-conditioning feathering are 22℃-26℃, the humidity is 70-90%, and natural light is used.

[0027] Furthermore, the pupae in step (2) are maintained in an air-conditioned hatching room under natural light conditions at a temperature of 22° C.-26° C. and a humidity of 70-90%.

[0028] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0029] The present invention aims at the problem of shortage of live adult insects in winter and spring in the current artificial breeding of leaf butterfly. The invention prevents the occurrence of autumn reproductive diapause of leaf butterfly adults by regulating temperature and light conditions, and continuously breeds under suitable conditions, so as to carry out large-scale artificial breeding from late autumn to winter and ensure the stable supply of live adult insects in winter and spring. The new method is easy to operate, low in cost, good in effect, and will not produce any adverse effects. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The present invention is further described below in conjunction with the embodiments, but the present invention is not limited in any way. Any changes or substitutions made based on the teachings of the present invention belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

[0031] Example 1

[0032] 1. Summer seed culture of dead leaf butterfly

[0033] The so-called "summer seed breeding" refers to small-scale breeding activities carried out under adverse weather conditions such as high temperature and high humidity in summer. Its main purpose is to solve the problem of seed butterflies in autumn breeding, and of course it can also partially supplement the production of commercial adults. The biggest difference between it and spring and autumn breeding is that in summer seed breeding, the larvae are raised in a full-range feeding mode to reduce the harm of high temperature. The remaining production links refer to the methods of Zhou Chengli et al. (2006), and some technical parameters are optimized.

[0034] (1) Breeding Garden

[0035] The main part consists of two parts: the mating garden and the egg-laying garden. The adult mating garden covers an area of ​​about 60m 2, with a rounded bottom rectangle and a side height of 2.0m. The upper side is a trapezoidal shape, with a flat top and a height of about 3.5m. The upper and side parts are covered with a nylon fishing net with a pore size of 0.7cm, and a silver-gray sunshade net is set up about 15cm below the top fishing net to prevent birds from preying on adult insects. In order to create an environment similar to the wild, tree species such as Cinnamomumcamphora, Phoebezhennan, Cerasuspseudocerasus, Phyllostachyssheteroclada, Evodiafargessi and Phellodendronchinense are planted in the net room, with a height between 2.0–3.3m. The main shrubs and tall herbaceous plants include Mahonia fortunei, Rhamnus dumetorum, Ligustrum quihoui, Sambucus chinensis and Clerodendrumbungei, with heights ranging from 0.6m to 1.8m. The female adult oviposition garden has a rounded rectangular bottom, about 11m long and 13m wide, covering a total area of ​​about 140㎡, and the rest of the structure is the same as the mating garden. The main tree species inside are Ficus henryi, Litchi Litchichinensis, Cinnamomum camphora, Ulmus pumila, Phoebe nanmu, Machilus sp, Albiziakalkora, Michelia alba, Magnolia Magnoliadenudata and Magnolia liliflora, with heights above 1.8m. The trunks of the four large trees, Ficus henryi, Litchi, Ulmus pumila and Phoebe nanmu, have all extended out of the top of the garden, providing a good sunshade effect for the garden. The main shrubs and tall herbs include Mahonia, Rhamnus spinosa, Ligustrum lucidum, Gardeniajasminoides and Sambucus serrata. The main vines include Marsdenia tinctoria, Lonicera japonica, Parthenocissustricuspidata and Humulus scandens.

[0036] (2) Feeding of adults

[0037] Chop up various inferior fruits, mix the fruits, water, sucrose and ethanol (industrial grade ethanol, 95% content) in a mass ratio of 10:10:1:0.8, and place them in a sealed plastic barrel for fermentation at room temperature for more than 20 days as a nutritional supplement for adults. When feeding, pour the mixed juice and fruit residues into a plastic feeding tray and let the adults eat freely.

[0038] (3) Egg period care

[0039] Due to the serious damage caused by parasitic wasps in summer, butterfly eggs laid on the same day were collected once every day at 13:00-14:00 at noon and 17:30-18:30 in the afternoon. The eggs were placed in small bottles and kept under natural conditions indoors.

[0040] (4) 1st to 3rd instar larvae are released outdoors

[0041] After the larvae hatch, they are stocked on the indigofera plants in the field in nylon bags with a side width of 65 cm and a bag depth of 90 cm, at a population density of 100-150 larvae per bag, until the end of the 3rd instar / beginning of the 4th instar.

[0042] (5) Rearing of older larvae

[0043] When the leaves in the small insect stocking bag are about to be eaten up, the 3rd instar / 4th instar larvae are transferred to the stocking cages in the large insect stocking area. The so-called "large insect stocking cage" is a 60-mesh nylon gauze cage with a length and width of about 3m set in the field host plot with relatively high terrain. The stocking density is 200 insects / cage.

[0044] 2. Production of non-diapause butterfly species

[0045] The production of non-diapause seed butterflies of the dead leaf butterfly is carried out in an ordinary air-conditioned room (non-diapause seed butterfly production room), and the treatment period is from the beginning of pupation to 7 days of adulthood.

[0046] (1) Buildings and equipment

[0047] The “non-diapause breeding butterfly production room” is a common brick-concrete structure (any other well-insulated house type) with an area of ​​12m 2 (3m×4m), and about 500 pupae can be processed per square meter at the same time; a Haier 1.5-horsepower wall-mounted air conditioner is installed indoors; along the wall and in the middle of the room, 4 layers of angle steel frames are placed, with a width of 60cm, and each layer of the angle steel frame is placed with a 5-layer plywood sheet for placing containers containing pupae and adults to be processed.

[0048] (2) Setting temperature, light and humidity conditions for the production of non-hysteresis butterflies

[0049] The air-conditioning temperature was set to 25°C to maintain the indoor temperature range within 23°C–27°C. A Philips HU4803 / 00 humidifier (Philips (China) Investment Co., Ltd.) was placed on the side of the room facing the window to control the indoor air humidity at 70%–90%. A ZTR-i100 data logger (Yuhuan ZTR-i100 Instrument Technology Co., Ltd.) and a mercury thermometer were placed on the wall on the side of the window to monitor and observe the changes in indoor temperature and humidity. Natural light was used between 7:30 and 17:30 during the day, and a 200W halogen tungsten lamp was used for supplementary lighting at 17:30 to ensure that the indoor day and night lighting duration was no less than 14 hours.

[0050] (3) Pupa stage treatment

[0051] After the shell hardens, pick the newly pupated ones immediately and put them into a plastic basket with a diameter of about 30 cm and absorbent paper at the bottom. Each basket should be filled with about 100 pupae. Number the plastic baskets with pupae, record the pupae collection date, and transfer them to the non-delayed breeding butterfly room. Place them on the interlayer of the triangular steel frame in the order of pupation date. Put a plastic basket of the same model upside down on the top of the pupae basket as a lid to prevent the adults from flying out after emergence. Spray the pupae with water every 2 days.

[0052] (4) Treatment of adult stage

[0053] When adults began to emerge, they were transferred to new plastic baskets, with 20–30 adults in each basket and labeled with the emergence date. During the adult treatment, water was sprayed from the outside of the plastic basket once a day until the adults were 7 days old. The average developmental grade of female adults from pupae to 7-day-old adults that experienced long-light treatment at 24℃-LD15:9 was 3.30–3.70, which was significantly higher than the average developmental grade of female adults from pupae to 7-day-old adults that experienced short-light treatment. The diapause rate of adults was 0–20.00%, and the average diapause rate was only 4.00%.

[0054] 3. Breeding of the dead leaf butterfly in autumn

[0055] (1) Adult reproduction

[0056] In the autumn generation breeding, we use a simple polyethylene plastic greenhouse for the adult breeding garden. The main frame of the greenhouse is 2.0m high, and the upper part is ridge-shaped with a ridge height of about 3.5m. First, cover the greenhouse frame with a 60% shading rate sunshade net, and then cover the outside of the sunshade net with polyethylene agricultural plastic film, which is buried about 30cm deep in the soil to prevent large predators such as rodents from digging the soil or biting the greenhouse wall to enter and harm the butterflies.

[0057] (2) Feeding of adults, collection and conservation of eggs, and release of 1st to 3rd instar larvae

[0058] In the autumn generation rearing, except that the 1st to 3rd instar larvae are released on the host plants in the plastic film greenhouse, the adult feeding method, egg collection and the release method of the 1st to 3rd instar larvae are the same as the aforementioned "summer seed breeding" method.

[0059] (3) Rearing of older larvae

[0060] When the leaves in the insect breeding bag are about to be eaten up, the 3rd instar / 4th instar larvae are transferred to the air-conditioned insect breeding room for breeding, and the indoor temperature is maintained at 20℃-25℃ and the humidity is maintained at 50%-80%. The air-conditioned insect breeding room is a brick-concrete structure with an area of ​​3×4 (m 2), equipped with a Haier 1.5HP wall-mounted air conditioner and a Philips HU4803 / 00 humidifier, and 60-mesh nylon screen doors and windows. All larvae were raised in cages by picking branches and leaves of Isatis indigo, at a rate of 600–800 heads / m 2 The insect population density is raised.

[0061] (4) Care and emergence of pupae

[0062] After the pupa shell hardens, pick the newly emerged pupae in time and transfer them to the air-conditioned eclosion room for incubation. Put the newly emerged pupae into a plastic basket with a diameter of about 30 cm and absorbent paper at the bottom. Put about 100 pupae in each basket and place them on the interlayer of the triangular steel frame in the eclosion room in the order of pupation date. Put a plastic basket of the same model upside down on the top of the pupa basket as a lid. Spray the pupae with water every 2 days. Under natural light conditions, keep the indoor temperature at 22℃–26℃ and the humidity at 70–90%.

[0063] (5) Preservation of adults during winter

[0064] The newly emerged adults are transferred to the adult overwintering room for feeding, and sufficient chopped inferior fruits or mixed fermentation liquid of fruits, water, sucrose and ethanol are provided for the adults to feed. In the low altitude area of ​​Mount Emei in Sichuan, the adults can overwinter under natural conditions indoors, but they need to be sprayed with water once a day in sunny weather. The survival rate of overwintering adults is above 75%.

[0065] The above description is only a partial embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. For those skilled in the art, the present invention may have various modifications and variations. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for extending the breeding season of leaf butterfly, comprising: (1) From late August to early September, the pupae and newly emerged 0-7-day-old adults were continuously exposed to high temperature and long light in an air-conditioned room, and sprayed with water until the adults were 7 days old; (2) After high temperature and light treatment, newly emerged adults are released into a simple greenhouse for mating and egg laying. The eggs are kept in an air-conditioned insect rearing room, and the pupae are kept in an air-conditioned emergence room under natural light conditions, including: The high temperature and long light treatment conditions in step (1) are: high temperature is 23°C-27°C; long light is LD14-16: 10-8h, The environment of the air-conditioned room is: the indoor humidity condition is 70%-90%; the lighting condition is: the light source used from 7:30 to 17:30 is natural light, and artificial light needs to be used after 17:30 to extend the lighting time; The spray water replenishment treatment includes: spray water replenishment for pupae once every 2 days; spray water replenishment for adults once a day; The simple greenhouse in step (2) is constructed by: a polyethylene plastic shed lined with a sunshade net with a shading rate of 60%; The egg conservation in the air-conditioned insect raising room includes: 1-3 instar larvae are released on host plants in a plastic film greenhouse, and 4-instar larvae are transferred to the air-conditioned insect raising room for breeding, and the environment of the air-conditioned insect raising room is: temperature 20°C-25°C, humidity 50-80%, and natural light is used; The pupae are incubated in an air-conditioned eclosion room under natural light conditions at a temperature of 22° C.-26° C. and a humidity of 70-90%.

2. The method for extending the breeding season of the leaf butterfly according to claim 1, wherein: The artificial light source in step (1) is a 200W halogen tungsten lamp.