This paper presents the results of recent studies on the infested rates of bamboo borer larvae from different bamboo species. An assessment of its parasitic characteristics and an estimation of biomass in Son La province are also given in this paper. | Tạp chí Khoa học và Công nghệ 54 (3) (2016) 332-339 DOI: AN ESTIMATION OF BAMBOO BORER BIOMASS IN SON LA PROVINCE, NORTHWESTERN VIETNAM AND REMARKS ON ITS PARASITIC CHARACTERISTICS Pham Quynh Mai Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, VAST, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Hanoi Email: pqmai70@ Received: 9 October 2015; Accepted for publication: 29 March 2016 ABSTRACT The population of Vietnam has been rapidly increased and would reach 100 million people in the near future. It is very likely that the sources of traditional food are insufficient to the whole population. Therefore, a study for sustainable usage of insects as a supplemental food for human in the future is clearly required. In fact, larvae of bamboo borer, Omphisa fuscidentalis, has been used as a kind of foods by local people in mountainous provinces in northern Vietnam. It also appears as a trade product in local markets. This paper presents the results of recent studies on the infested rates of bamboo borer larvae from different bamboo species. An assessment of its parasitic characteristics and an estimation of biomass in Son La province are also given in this paper. Keywords: estimation, biomass, food, insect, Omphisa fuscidentalis, Vietnam. 1. INTRODUCTION Scientific research to use insects as a kind of food for human is essentially important [1, 2]. Omphisa fuscidentalis is a tropical species [3, 4], which distributes in the Southeast Asian region including Vietnam [5, 6, 7]. The species has been exploited for food by local people in northern Vietnam for many years. It inhabits shoots of bamboo and other plant species. In Son La province, bamboo shoots annually growth in early summer, between April and May. Adult borer lays an egg cluster on a bamboo shoot in June. The newly hatched larvae bore a hole through the internodal wall so that all larvae from the egg cluster move into the internode and feed on the inner pulp. Within the tree body, larvae bore
