A rearing apparatus and diet for the aquatic firefly Luciola leii (Coleoptera: Lampyridae)

Abstract An artificial rearing apparatus for the aquatic firefly Luciola leii Fu and Ballantyne is described, consisting of two small rearing boxes placed inside a larger outer box, a choice of diet, and a suitable substrate for oviposition. Larvae feeding on crushed prey snails ( Gyraulus convexiusculus Huton and Lymnaea stagnalis (L.)) showed moderate growth, while those feeding exclusively on muscle of the snail Bellamya purificata Heude grew the best, with a pupation rate of 71%, adult emergence rate of 88.7%, larval duration of 203 days, and pupal duration of 5.1 days. Larvae feeding on fish meat ( Carassius auratus L.) and pork meat did not rear well, having lower pupation rates (11% and 5.5%, respectively) and lower emergence rates (54.5% and 54.5%, respectively). Analysis of the three species of aquatic snails, isolated fish meat, and isolated pork meat revealed that the concentrations of amino acids in a protein sample of B. purificata were higher than those in samples of the other two snails, G. convexiusculus and L. stagnalis , but less than those in samples of the fish and pork meat. It is concluded that the rearing apparatus and the diet, which affects water quality, are important factors in the successful rearing of the aquatic firefly L. leii .