1. The Basics of Quality Control for Insect Rearing 2015
Norm Leppla
University of Florida Entomology and Nematology Department

2. Norm’s Career in Insect Rearing
I. Introduction
Norm’s Career in Insect Rearing
University of Arizona- Insect rearing research, 2 years
USDA, ARS- Insectary management, Florida and Texas, 17 years
USDA, APHIS- Methods development, Washington DC and international, 7 years
University of Florida- Integrated pest management and biological control, 18 years
Rearing and quality of Tamarixia radiata (Chris Kerr)
Extension IPM (

3. Countries of Workshop Students

4. Quality Control Topics
Introduction- Learning how to rear quality insects
Colony Establishment and Maintenance
Monitoring Quality
Evaluation and Management
Guidelines for Quality Systems
Total Quality Management

5. Learning How to Rear High Quality Insects
Apprentice in an insectary
Network with other professionals
Literature plus trial-and-error
Visit other insectaries
Reviews by experts
Education and training programs

6. MSU Insect Rearing Center
Frank Davis
John Schneider

7. Online courses Classroom courses Webinars Mentoring
2004

8. Insectary Manager Network
Anyone associated with the mass rearing of insects
65 Members

9. Insect Rearing Professionals
Google Group
Subscribe:
Léon Westerd
Group moderator
Head of insect rearing
Wageningen UR, Netherlands

10. VI. Total Quality Management

11. Generic Guidelines for Quality Systems
Policy, Planning and Administration
Design Assurance and Change Control
Control of Purchased Materials
Production Quality Control
User Contact and Field Performance
Corrective Action
Employees- Select, Train and Motivate

12. Quality Control Programs
Individual Companies Customers
International Standards ISO ASTM
The Marketplace Quality Products

13. Specifications- Requirements for a product or service
Standards- The level of quality at which a specification is written

14. Parts of an Insect Rearing System

15. A Complete QA System

16. II. Colony Establishment and Maintenance
II. A. Purposes for Rearing Insects II. B. Types of Insect Rearing Systems II. C. Options for Colonizing Insects II. D. Maintaining the Quality of Colonized Insects

17. II. A. Purposes for Rearing Insects

18. White witch, Thysania agrippina (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae

19. Small-Scale Rearing: Butterflies
II. B. Types of Insect
Rearing Systems
Painted Lady
Monarch
Small-Scale Rearing: Butterflies

20. “Insect rearing is never a boring task; insects are always doing something interesting and pose new challenges all the time”
Annie Lorie
Punky Rogers
Medium-Scale
Rearing

21. Mass Rearing- Medfly El Pino, Guatemala Capacity- 3.5 billion sterile
male pupae per week
Metapa, Mexico

22. II. C. Options for Colonizing Insects
Peter Ebling
Insect Producer Database Mgr.
Great Lakes Forestry Centre
1219 Queen St. East
Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6A 2E5
(705)

23. World-wide listing, 35 insect & 21 nematode orders
Data submitted by sources
Searchable database
Expand clients
Adopt-a-colony

24. Field Collecting
Cabbage Loopers
Trichoplusia ni

25. Continuous Improvement of Insect Rearing

26. II. D. Maintaining the Quality of Colonized Insects
Collection of appropriate biotypes
Colonization and strain development
Rearing proficiency
Colony management (SOPs)
Select, infuse, hybridize
Strain replacement
Sam 2005

29. Soybean Looper vs. Cabbage Looper

30. Tritrophic Rearing System Tamarixia radiata SOPs

32. Colony Management Maintain- Low productivity, variability, expensive
Select- High productivity, uniformity, consistency
Infuse- Short term recovery, hybridize?
Hybridize- New strain, crosses
Replace- New strain, adaptation

33. III. Monitoring Quality
III. A. Quality Control Criteria and Standardized Tests III. B. Sampling for Consistent Quality III. C. Production, Process and Product Control

34. III. A. Quality Control Criteria and Standardized Tests
Quantity- Number of required stage
Rate of Development-Synchronization
Viability- Emergence, sex ratio
Size- Weight or measurements
Fecundity- Oviposition and egg hatch
Adult Behavior-Flight, longevity
Field Performance- Achieve purpose

35. Standardized QC Tests
Joop van Lenteren (2003), IOBC- Guidelines for quality control of commercially produced natural enemies, 30 species
Rose Buitenhuis (2014), Grower guide to quality assurance of biocontrol products, 22 species
Custom, develop your own, site-specific

36. Number of Cabbage Looper Pupae Per Rearing Container
Shelf
Container 1 2 3 4 5 6
175
157.6
17.4
302.76
190
191
180
142
167
9.4
88.36
176
144
-13.6
184.96
192
189
156
166
8.4
70.56
138
136
-21.6
466.56
174
181
Average
190.6
190.8
179.8
158.6
Sum of Squares
1,113.2
Variance
278.3
Standard Deviation
16.7
0.5
0.8
0.9
5.8
19.4
Shelf 1 is lowest

37. III. B. Sampling for Consistent Quality
Count = Measurement = N
Mean = Sum/Number of Counts = X
Variance = Sum of (N – X)2 / n-1 = 2
Standard Deviation = Square Root of = SD

38. Quality Control Charts

39. Tamarixia radiata Parasitism on 3rd, 4th and 5th Instar Diphorina citri Nymphs
Anonymous, UF

40. Level of T. radiata Parasitism on D. citri

41. Level of T. radiata Parasitism on D. citri
Level of parasitism

42. T. Radiata Sex Ratio
Bar shows 95% CI

43. T. radiata Hind Tibia Length
Minimum, maximum and mean hind tibia length of T. radiata that were developing on different Asian citrus psyllid host nymph instars 1, 2
Host instar
Females
Males
Min
Max
x̄±SD (n)
Third
---
0.16
0.21
0.20±0.02 (13) c
Fourth
0.23
0.27
0.25±0.02 (6) b
0.24±0.02 (55) b
Fifth
0.34
0.31±0.02 (75) a
0.33
0.29±0.02 (40) a
1 Comparison of means within a given instar were not significantly different between sexes (Tukey’s HSD, α =0.05).
S:R and size effects

44. III. C. Production, Process
and Product Control

45. Quality Assurance Actions Production and Process Control
Frequency of Actions
Production and Process Control
Routinely
Periodically
Have up-to-date standard operating procedures X
Use check sheets to monitor rearing processes
Record daily production data
Track changes in production
Review production with staff
Improve product quality based on staff feedback
Product Control
Conduct product quality control assessments
Have established minimum thresholds of quality
Use standard shipping and handling procedures
Customer Service
Add customer feedback forms to shipments
Add product use instructions to shipments
Have an established customer service program
Improve product quality based on customer feedback

46. IV. Evaluation and Management
IV. A. Structured Diagnostic Procedures IV. B. Quality Control Versus Methods Improvement IV. C. Periodic Review

47. IV. A. Structured Diagnostic
Procedures

48. IV. B. Quality Control Versus Methods Improvement
Monitor indicator variables
Evaluate multiple variables
Troubleshoot using QC data
Conduct evaluations rapidly
Goal is to maintain stable production
Methods Improvement
Conduct evaluations methodically
Test one variable at a time
Use controlled experiments
Test results in the production system
Goal is to optimize production

49. IV. C. Periodic Review
E. F. Knipling
W. G. Eden

51. V. Guidelines for Quality Systems
IOBC

52. International Organization for Biological Control
Mission:
to facilitate and advance cost-effective rearing of high quality insects and other arthropods in support of biological control and integrated pest management

53. Workshops of the IOBC, WGQC (AMRQC, MRQA)
1982 Gainesville, Florida E. F. Boller and D. L. Chambers
1984 Wadenswil, Switzerland E. F. Boller and D. L. Chambers
1986 Guatemala City, Guatemala C. 0. Calkins
1988 Vancouver, Canada C. 0. Calkins
1991 Wageningen, Netherlands F. Bigler and J. C. van Lenteren
1992 Horsholm, Denmark F. Bigler
1993 Rimini, Italy M. Benuzzi and N. C. Leppla
1995 Santa Barbara, California R. F. Luck and N. C. Leppla
Cali, Colombia N. C. Leppla and T. R. Ashley
Montpellier, France P. De Clercq, S. Grenier and NCL
Montreal, Canada S. Grenier and C. S. Glenister
Vienna, Austria P. De Clercq and T. A. Coudron
Bangalore, India P. De Clercq and T. A. Coudron

54. Insect Pest Control (IPC)

55. Insect Rearing Quality Control References
Leppla, N. C Quality Assurance for Mass-Reared Parasitoids and Predators. In Mass Production of Beneficial Organisms. Elsevier. Morales-Ramos, Rojas, and Shapiro-Ilan
Leppla, N. C The basics of quality control for insect rearing. In Principles and Procedures for Rearing Quality Insects. Miss. State Univ. Schneider
Leppla, N. C. 2004, Rearing of Insects. Encyclopedia of Entomology. Kluwer. Capinera
Leppla, N. C Guidelines for quality control of commercially produced natural enemies. In Quality Control and Production of Biological Control Agents, Theory and Testing Procedures. CABI. Van Lenteren

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