Advanced Disease Course in Lepidoptera

Chapter I

  1.  What is Disease?
  2. Scientific Terms
  3. Begin with the Basics
  4. General Information
  5. Farm Size
  6. Disinfect, Sanitize, or Sterilize?
  7. Tools for healthy Lepidoptera

Chapter II

  1. Healthy Breeding Stock (the most critical element)
  2. Healthy Food Plants and Enough of them (one of the two most important tools)
  3. Cleaning Rearing Facilities
  4. Recognition of Signs and Symptoms of Disease
  5. Identification of Disease
  6. Eradication of Disease
  7. Hand Sanitation
  8. Proper Rearing Containers
  9. Low Number of Larva in each Rearing Container
  10. Keep Rearing Containers Free of Excessive Frass Buildup
  11. SOP – Standard Operating Procedure for consistency
  12. A Journal – daily records of each day’s happenings and observations
  13. Clean Room
  14. Low Larva  Density
  15. Low Frass/Trash Level

Chapter III

  1. Egg Production
  2. Disinfecting Eggs and Pupae
  3. Bleach Cautions
  4. Recipe for
  5. Disinfecting Eggs and Pupae
  6. Daily Schedule

Chapter IV

  1. Signs and Symptoms of Disease
  2. A Closer Look of Individual Signs of Disease
    1. Change in Larval Color
    2. Unusual Foul Odor
    3. Flaccid or Hardened Larva
    4. One Dead Larva
  3. A Closer Look of Individual Symptoms of Disease
    1. Loss of Appetite
    2. Lack of Mobility
    3. Diarrhea (runny frass)
    4. Reduced Fecundity (egg production)
    5. Vomiting or Regurgitating
  4. Marking Individual Rearing Containers

Chapter V

  1. Disease Transmission
  2. Begin with Healthy Breeding Stock
  3. Clean and Sanitary Rearing Containers
  4. Vacuuming and Sweeping the Floor
  5. Container Disinfection – Dirty Room
  6. Disposal of Contaminated Material
  7. Disease Outbreak Triggers
  8. Larval Food

Chapter VI

  1. Diseases Common in Lepidoptera
  2. NPV – Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus
    1. Signs and Symptoms of NPV
    2. NPV is Transmitted
    3. NPV Cleanup
  3. Bacteria
  4. BT – Bacillus thuringgiensis
  5. Microsporidia
  6. Meconium Check
    1. How to Check Meconium without Stain
    2. How to Check Meconium with Stain
      1. Buffalo Black Stain Recipe
  7. Serratia
  8. Aspergillus niger
  9. Fungus
  10. Other
  11. Additional Causes of Death
    1. Toxic Plants
    2. Pesticides

Chapter VII

  1. OE – Ophryocystis elektroscirrha
  2. How Can OE affect a Butterfly
  3. Why is it important to know if the problem is OE
  4. OE Lifecycle
  5. OE Signs and Symptoms
  6. OE’s effect on Butterflies
  7. Diagnosing OE
    1. In Pupae
    2. In Adults with a Microscope
    3. Without a Microscope
  8. If it has OE Spores on it
  9. Disinfecting Butterfly and Moth Eggs
  10. Preventing OE from Entering a Rearing Facility