Story of Tegosept in the insects artificial diet: Challenge for the future research

Artificial diet technology is an important factor in mass-rearing insects in the laboratory. The common problem using an artificial insect diet is the presence of microbial when applied to the target. Controlling microbial growth such as fungal in the artificial diet is an important key component in preparing valuable food for insect development. The impact of humidity and temperature on an artificial diet on feeding time gives many fungal development opportunities on the media. Since a few years ago, the stalk-eye flies Teleopsis dalmanni (Diptera: Diopsidae) have been mass rearing in the artificial diet-based maize grain. The one famous component against microbial growth on an artificial insect diet used Tegosept. As antimicrobial growth, Tegosept has been applied in the food of T. dalmanni to control fungi growth. The purpose of the research is to study the kind of fungal and role of Tegosept as antifungal in the artificial diet of T. dalmanni. In June through July 2021 at CU Denver Integrative Biology Research, Department of Integrative Biology, University of Colorado Denver, USA. The artificial diet for T. dalmanni is based from maize grain for feeding adult. The observation focused kind of fungal and the role of Tegosept as antifungal activities. The observation was showed dominant fungal collected from artificial diet identified as Rhizopus sp. and Mucor sp. Commonly two fungal started growth at two days after adult feeding on the artificial diet. The presence of Mucor sp. full-grown on the seven days of observation. The result was showed Tegosept cannot inhibit fungal growth in artificial since the second day. The research concluded that Rhizopus sp. and Mucor sp. still living faster in the artificial diet contain Tegosept on the lower number (1 ml per 100 g artificial diet). Future research needs treatment in the vary number and concentration of Tegosept as an antifungal agent, then learn more about the relationship antifungal on the insect healthy on mass-rearing conditions.