Traditional age-specific life table analysis does not take variable development rates into account and deals only with the female population. In this paper, rearing and harvesting of specific life stages are analyzed in the context of a general age-stage, two-sex life table. The question of selecting optimal harvest and discard strategies for the design of insect mass rearing facilities is discussed. The method is demonstrated using data collected from a culture of the potato tuberworm,Phtharimaea aperculella(Zeller).