Insectarium (redirected from insectary)

Insectarium 

a place for keeping, hatching, or breeding insects; a variety of vivarium.

The life of insects is observed in an insectarium. Beneficial entomophages are bred for biological control of pests, and insects are raised for laboratory experiments (in toxicology, genetics, and biophysics). A modern insectarium has equipment for air exchange, humidification, and illumination. The simplest insectarium resembles a collapsible box or cylinder with walls of netting, gauze, or wire screen of mesh no larger than 0.5–1 mm. Convenient insectariums are made of glass cylinders with no bottoms and screened tops. For insects that live in soil, sand, dung, wood, or root crops, insectariums are built in the form of narrow-walled, collapsible breeding tanks, with shaded glass walls set apart the width of the insect’s body; thus, the insect is always visible to the investigator. For the observation of ant life, a special insectarium, the formicarium, is used; it contains a nest and a range where the ants search for food. Some present-day insectariums are large buildings with a number of rooms and devices for regulating illumination, temperature, and humidity.

L. V. RUDFNSKAIA