Relationship Between Bamboo Clump Characteristics and Egg Spawn of Bamboo Caterpillar (Omphisa fuscidentalis) at Pang Da Royal Agricultural Station, Chiang Mai Province

Abstract

Bamboo caterpillars are edible insects that are highly valued and popular. They can be found in natural bamboo forests as well as in cultivated bamboo gardens where the environment is suitable for their distribution.
A study on the relationship between the characteristics of bamboo clumps and the egg-laying of bamboo caterpillars was conducted in a bamboo plantation aimed at producing bamboo shoots for sale, specifically at the Pang Da Agricultural Station in Chiang Mai Province. The study examined four characteristics of the bamboo clumps: the number of bamboo shoots, the number of bamboo stalks, the density of the bamboo stalks in each clump, and the distribution of the bamboo stalks in each clump, along with an investigation of the egg-laying of bamboo caterpillar moths in the year 2022.

The results of the surveys were analyzed to find the correlation between the bamboo stalk characteristics and the egg-laying of bamboo caterpillars. It was found that the characteristic of bamboo stalks that most significantly affected the egg-laying of bamboo caterpillars was the distribution of bamboo stalks in each clump, followed by the number of bamboo shoots in each clump, the number of bamboo stalks in each clump, and the density of bamboo stalks in each clump, in that order. The distribution of bamboo stalks had the greatest impact, as it provided a habitat for the bamboo caterpillar moths to hide. The number of bamboo shoots was the next leading factor, as a greater number of shoots means more food and habitat for the bamboo caterpillars. The number of stalks in the area, which was a managed bamboo plantation, did not vary significantly. Lastly, the density of bamboo stalks in each clump had the least impact due to high variability in the data.