Emergence Rate of Female Adults of <i>Eurema mandarina</i>（Lepidoptera: Pieridae）Reared under Different Humidity Conditions during Their Post-Castration Period

Cryopreservation techniques have the potential to strengthen the ex-situ conservation of insects. The cryopreservation technique developed for the ovaries of Bombyx mori Linnaeus can be applied to ex-situ conservation of endangered species. This technique involves the surgical process of transplanting cryopreserved ovaries to recipient larvae. However, the technique should be adjusted to each taxonomic group or species. Humidity is a factor that should be considered during the post-surgery period because castration or transplantation surgeries of insects are often conducted under high humidity conditions. The present study investigated the effect of humidity on the survival rate of the castrated larvae of a pierid butterfly, Eurema mandarina（de l’Orza）（Lepidoptera: Pieridae）. The result of model selection showed that there was little difference in the emergence rate of adult individuals reared under 60 and 100% relative humidity（RH）a day after castration, indicating that the method has the potential to be used without humidity control.