(Purification and Characterization of an Intracellular Lipase from the Greater Wax Moth, Galleria mellonella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae

Abstract

The Greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella is one of the most important pests of honey bee colonies because of the destructive effect caused by larvae to bee colonies. Female moth lays its eggs in clusters in crevices inside the hive. The hatched larvae not only feed on wax but also feed on pollen, honey, remaining of honey bee pupal skin and brood. Feeding larvae cause galleriasis to bee colonies by making tunnels lined with silk in honey combs. The silk threads disable the emergent bees from emergence and feeding causing death to stave. Also G. mellonella can affects bee colonies indirectly through acting as vector of pathogens such black queen cell virus (BQCV). The present investigation aims to gain a better understanding of G. mellonella digestive physiology through giving a clue on purification, identification and characterization of intracellular fat body lipase and midgut lipase. That will spot a great interest on new physiological strategies for pest management. The current study describes in a simple way, how to rear Galleria larvae, how to dissect them and some examples on how to collect and process larval tissues in order to show the potential of such model. It also describes the possibility to use Galleria larvae for identification of intracellular lipase extracted fro