Rearing Actinote thalia pyrrha (Fabricius) and Actinote anteas (Doubleday and Hewitson) with cutting and potted Mikania micrantha Kunth

Two Actinote spp. have been utilised for the biological control of the exotic weeds Chromolaena odorata and Mikania micrantha. Since the end of the 1990s, M. micrantha has been spreading rapidly in the south of Guangdong Province, China, and has become a serious weed, especially in nature reserves. We introduced two Actinote spp. from the Indonesian Oil Palm Research Institute in 2001, and reared them in the quarantine laboratory of the Guangdong Entomological Institute. A method of rearing Actinote thalia pyrrha and Actinote anteas using cut and potted Mikania micrantha was developed. When reared on Mikania micrantha in the laboratory, with controlled temperature, humidity and light, A. t. pyrrha and A. anteas completed their life cycle very well. Emergence and oviposition of adult Actinote spp. occurred successfully in a screen cage in a plastic screen house even during the cold season (6-9°C night and 12-18°C day). This method can be used to rear A. t. pyrrha and A. anteas for experiments. (Resume d'auteur)