PORINA INTEREST

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31221, 19 November 1966, Page 10

PORINA INTEREST

jpORINA caviar will prob- ' ably never become a feature of the diet in New Zealand, but if it did, Mr J. B. Waller, of the Entomology Division, D.5.1.R., at Nelson, could claim to be its pioneer. The eggs look like caviar, and Mr Waller and a colleague who have tasted them say they have a nutty and not unpleasant flavour. Mr Waller’s purpose in collecting large numbers of porina moths, however, is far from that of an experimental gourmet. Actually, he is attempting to rear

porina caterpillars in captivity so that he can study the effects of insecticides on these destructive pasture pests. To obtain supplies of eggs for hatching in the laboratory he catches porina moths in a light trap. Female moths, heavy with eggs, must lay them before they die, and when caught they will lay in the trap. The eggs are laid dry, and can be retrieved from among the moth bodies and other coarse trash in the trap by sieving. Fine trash

is then separated out by spreading the sieved material on a tilted enamelled tray. When the tray is tapped sharply the eggs roll clear of the trash, and are ready for cool storage or hatching. The emerging larvae will be introduced into sterilised soil in small containers. At each stage of growth from hatching to pupation, a percentage of the larvae will be taken out and treated with insecticides. It is hoped that the results will show the stages of growth at which the caterpillars are most susceptible.