Paper Title
SYSTEMATIC ASSESSMENT OF SOIL-TO-FEED RATIOS IN ORYCTES RHINOCEROS LARVAE BREEDING

Abstract
The Oryctes rhinoceros (Scarabaeidae: Coleoptera) is a commonly found coleopteran insect in tropical regions, with its larvae typically inhabiting decayed coconut trees and compost heaps in the wild, and it is widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere. Given the demand for a large number of live experimental samples, this study aims to design an efficient and straightforward breeding method for Oryctes rhinoceros larvae. The goal is to systematically evaluate specific breeding factor to support future experimental needs. The study specifically focuses on assessing the impact of different soil-to-feed ratios (S/F ratio) on larval survival rate, weight increase, cumulative feces production, and substrate conversion ratio.In the setup using 100% feed material (no soil), the larvae achieved a 100% survival rate, 12.25-fold weight increase, 7.91 g of cumulative feces production, and a substrate conversion ratio of 0.08 after four weeks experiment. In the 1:1 soil-to-feed environment, the survival rate was 93.75%, weight increase was 9.36-fold, cumulative feces production was 2.43 g, and the substrate conversion ratio was 0.23 after four weeks. In the 2:1 soil-to-feed setup, the survival rate was 62.5%, weight increase was 8.8-fold, cumulative feces production was 2.68 g, and the substrate conversion ratio was 0.26 after four weeks.The results indicate that the survival rate, weight increase, and cumulative feces production negatively correlate with increasing soil-to-feed ratios, whereas the substrate conversion ratio shows a positive correlation. These findings provide valuable insights for future reference in the optimal soil addition ratios for Oryctes rhinoceros larvae breeding. Keywords - Oryctes rhinoceros, Larvae breeding, Soil-to-feed ratio (S/F ratio)