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Biotic Potential of a Short-Horned Grasshopper, Oxya hyla hyla Serville (Orthoptera: Acrididae) to Assess Its Biomass Producing Capacity

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Abstract

The growth of fishery and animal husbandry is being hindered by the scarcity of protein rich feed ingredients. Being rich in protein grasshoppers may be an alternative source of protein rich feed ingredients and hence rearing of these insects is essential for sustainable supply of insect biomass to the feed industry. The success of biomass production through insect rearing depends on the reproductive potentiality, rate of survival and growth of that particular insect. This study examines the biotic potential, fecundity, fertility, nymph mortality, life span and biomass production ability of a multivoltine grasshopper, Oxya hyla hyla (Serville, 1931) under semi-controlled condition. The grasshoppers are reared in 35 ± 2 °C temperature and 12L: 12D photoperiod and provided with food as fresh leaves of Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. to nymphs and Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers. to the adults. The result shows that a single pair of O. hyla hyla can lay on average 69.87 eggs in 4.96 ± 0.43 egg pods of which 7.37 ± 0.92 % eggs and 8.26 ± 0.99 % nymphs do not survive. The remaining survived nymphs metamorphose to 27.8 ± 3.35 male and 32.6 ± 3.21 female adults which produce a biomass of 18.48 ± 1.67 g wet weight. Thus a mass scale rearing of this insect may produce good amount of insect biomass which may be usable for fish and animal feed.

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Acknowledgments

Authors are thankful to the Head, Department of Zoology, Visva-Bharati University for providing all necessary laboratory and infrastructural facilities and to the University Grants Commission, New Delhi for providing financial assistance in the form of Major Research Project [F. No. 40-358/2011(SR)].

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  1. Department of Zoology, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, West Bengal, 731235, India

    Subhasish Ghosh, Parimalendu Haldar & Dipak Kumar Mandal

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  1. Subhasish Ghosh
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  2. Parimalendu Haldar
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  3. Dipak Kumar Mandal
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Correspondence to Dipak Kumar Mandal.

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Ghosh, S., Haldar, P. & Mandal, D.K. Biotic Potential of a Short-Horned Grasshopper, Oxya hyla hyla Serville (Orthoptera: Acrididae) to Assess Its Biomass Producing Capacity. Proc Zool Soc 70, 46–51 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12595-015-0159-2

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