Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 26, 2026

Author Spotlight: Investigating the Tolerance of Cabbage Butterflies to Urban Pollutants
Published on: August 18, 2023
A Review of the McMorran Diet for Rearing Lepidoptera Species With Addition of a Further 39 Species
V A D Hervet1, R A Laird2, K D Floate3
1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive W., Lethbridge, AB, Canada T1J 3M4 (vincent.hervet@yahoo.fr; robert.laird@uleth.ca), Lethbridge Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 5403 1st Ave. S., Lethbridge, AB, Canada T1J 4B1 (kevin.floate@agr.gc.ca), and vincent.hervet@yahoo.fr.
Abstract:
Research on cutworms led us to explore the use of the McMorran diet to rear lepidopteran species, mainly Noctuidae, under laboratory conditions. We documented the development of 103 lepidopteran species, including 39 species not previously reported in the literature, to be reared on this diet. Given its low cost, ease of preparation, and wide species' acceptance, this diet provides a powerful tool for facilitating Lepidoptera and other insects rearing and research in the laboratory.

