Abstract: With the wide application of natural enemies such as Trichogramma and Chrysopa perla, the rearing of the hosts, which is an important part in the mass production of natural enemies, has aroused great interests. Studies have shown that the rice moth Corcya cephalonica Stainton can be reproduced indoors all year round owing to the easy availability of feed, adaptability to the seasons and regions. The rice moth is an ideal substitute host for large host eggs such as Antheraea pernyi. But the reproduction efficiency is restricted by environment factors and feed formula. The threshold of the temperature and humidity for the growth and development is 17-35℃ and 15%-80%, respectively. The basic formula for rice moth rearing is 70% corn flour+20% soybean flour+10% wheat bran. In this paper, we did an orthogonal test with four factors of temperature, humidity, rearing density and feed formula (treatments A-I) at three levels. The results showed that when the temperature ranged from 25 to 28℃, relative humidity was 72% to 82%, rearing density was 8000 to 10000 rice moth eggs/kg, the developmental duration of rice moth was the shortest. Moreover, the emergence of rice moth was relatively concentrated, the reproductive rate was higher, and the mean fecundity was higher. Therefore, these conditions were conducive to the growth and development of rice moth.

Key words: rice moth, temperature, humidity, breeding density, diet formula