Utilization of Different Cereal Grains for the Mass Production of Corcyra cephalonica(Stainton)(Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Different cereal grains viz, maize, rice, sorghum and wheat were evaluated as food at various concentrations i. e., 500, 1000, 1500 and 2000 eggs per kg for the mass production of Corcyra cephalonica (Stainton). The aim was to find an alternative to sorghum, which is costly and to arrive at the optimum quantity of eggs per unit of food material. It was found that the Iife-cycle of C. cephalonica was shorter and fecundity and female progeny production were higher when reared on maize. Charging one kg of food material (maize) with of 1500 eggs of C. cephttlonica was observed to be optimum for successful mass production.