A Call For Domestication And Mass Rearing Of Oryctes Owariensis Larvae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

Domestication and mass rearing of a hundred O. owariensis larvae aimed at commercialization of the harvested larvae to the consuming populace was carried out in the Biological Sciences laboratory of Niger Delta University, Bayelsa State using five formulated feed media constituted with palm tissues as substrate while twenty first instar larvae were reared on each diet for a period of twenty weeks. The dietary treatments included hundred grams (100g) of raphia palm tissues mixed with 30g respectively of ripe banana (Musa sapientum) (PB), peeled ripe orange fruit (Citrus sinensis) (PO), crushed carrot (Daucus carota) (PC), ripe pawpaw fruit (Carica papaya) (PP) and palm wine (PW) to form moist brown to black paste as the basic diets in different rearing jars. The felled raphia palm trunk (PT) was taken to the laboratory as the sixth feed medium and the positive control. Feeds were discarded and renewed weekly. Growth pattern of reared O. owariensis larvae was a gradual and continuous process in the entire feed media with mean weight values of 24.70±0.24g palm trunk (PT), 20.78±0.47g palm wine (PW), 15.89± 0.61g banana fruit (PB), 12.67±1.19g orange fruit (PO), 11.43±1.13g pawpaw fruit (PP) and 10.09±1.10g carrot (PC) respectively. The mass rearing exercise was successful recording a total of 83.3% survival and 16.7% mortality of larvae. Feed media PT and PW recorded a 100% survival of larvae. PB, PO, PP and PC larvae had similar rate of growth and weight increase with 80% survival and 20% mortality respectively, while PC gave 60% survival and 40% mortality of reared larvae. One way ANOVA, showed significant difference (p