Rearing the Egyptian cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis, on a practical calcium-alginate diet.

Larvae ofSpodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) were mass-reared on a calcium-alginate diet consisting of soybeans, alfalfa meal, milk powder, and yeast as the nutrients, with dry citric acid as the gel-setting acid. Larval and pupal survival was 73%; a mean of 2045 eggs per female was oviposited within 4 days. The advantage of using this new technique is discussed.