Cryopreservation of the late stage embryos of Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Genetic devolution, genetic drift and contamination are all threats to maintain germplasm stability during mass rearing of many insects. Cryopreservation of beet armworm (Spodoptera exigua) embryos was studied to provide information to improve mass rearing. A series of experiments was conducted on late-stage embryos (45-48 h at 27 degree C) of the beet armyworm, which included evaluation of cryoprotectants (CPAs), their toxicity and glass-forming tendency and optimization of experimental procedures. The results showed that ethylene glycol (EG) was the best CPA with comparatively low toxicity compared to the other six CPAs tested (methanol, 1,3-propanediol, glycerol, 2-amino-1-ethanol, 3-amino-1-propanol 3-methoxy-1 and 2-propanediol). The highest hatching rate of 8.8 degree was attained after freezing with a 3-step loading procedure and a 1-step unloading procedure, but the hatched larvae from frozen-thawed embryos did not actively feed and could not develop to a later stage. This was attributed to injuries from freezing in late stage embryos of S. exigua which had formed midguts.