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The concept of quality control of insect crops is proposed, which is based on a targeted approach based on the goal and objectives of the implementation of a certain breeding program and is divided into two main directions: control of phytophage production, control of entomophage production. Quality control methods are based on the general biological rule of dependence between the intensity of insect taxis and the overall viability of biomaterial. The effectiveness of methods for assessing the quality of phytophages (on the example of the mother cultures of the grain moth Sitotroga cerealella, the wax moth Galleria mellonella) and entomophages (laboratory and natural populations of P. bioculatus.) of the Center for Mother Cultures of Insects Engineering and Technological Institute “Biotekhnica” of the National Academy of Sciences (ETI “Biotekhnica”) at different stages of ontogenesis was investigated using the indicator the intensity of taxis.

As a result of research conducted on the culture of phytophagous, grain moth, a significant difference with the control was established in the indicators of viability of eggs, larvae, pupae and adults: 25; 6; 33 and 11%, respectively. Studies conducted with another phytophagous representative – the wax firefly – also showed positive results (16; 17; 16; 11%, respectively). The obtained (as a result of preliminary quality control) and selection culture had significantly higher viability indicators at all stages of ontogenesis.

It was established that the intensity of chemotaxis of larvae of the 1st age of entomophages directly correlates with the indicator of viability of the insect culture. When selecting the starting material for successful culture, it is possible to select by chemotaxis of the larvae after rebirth from the egg. Thus, viability when selecting for Colorado beetle eggs significantly (p<0.01) exceeds this indicator in other selection options – Colorado beetle larvae and wax firefly larvae: 82; 59; 73% respectively. When working with an artificial population of P. bioculatus, on wax moth larvae, the highest intensity of taxis was noted in the variant with wax moth larvae compared to Colorado beetle eggs and Colorado beetle larvae – 37; 34; 29% respectively. This indicates a shift in the number of the population in the direction of individuals that successfully feed on unnatural food. Their viability was significantly higher than the viability in other variants of the study with an artificial population – 78; 71; 68% respectively. The proposed method of selection of starting material for cultivation of P. bioculatus allows differentiation of individuals for further effective reproduction, and the use of such biomaterial in programs of biological protection of plants from pests.

A comparative analysis of methods for assessing the quality of phytophagous and entomophagous cultures at different stages of ontogenesis was carried out using the indicator of the overall viability of insect populations. It is an integrated indicator that takes into account the viability of the population at all stages of its development. All tested objects of the study showed that control and improvement of culture quality by the proposed method lead to an increase in the viability of biomaterial by 18.71; 18.56 and 8.86%, respectively (egg, larva, pupa).

 

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