Laboratory rearing of Tetrastichus gallerucae (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), an egg parasitoid of the elm leaf beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)
1988
Hamerski, M.R. | Hall, R.W.
Rearing of Tetrastichus gallerucae (Fonscolombe), a parasitoid of the elm leaf beetle, Xanthogaleruca luteola (Muller), was conducted at 15:9 (L:D) photoperiod, 25?C, and 80-90% relative humidity. Under these conditions, adult males lived for an average of 23 d and females for 59 d when fed a 1:1 water-honey mixture. Adult T. gallerucae began to emerge from elm leaf beetle egg masses 28 d after exposure to T. gallerucae when held at 20?C, 12 d at 25?C, 11 d at 27?C, and 10 d at 30?C. Peak emergence occurred after 13 d at 25?C. Male T. gallerucae emerged first, remained close to the egg mass, and mated with their sisters. T. gallerucae exhibited a female-biased sex ratio. T. gallerucae would parasitize elm leaf beetle eggs that were between 1 and 104 h old at 25?C. Parasitization of egg masses exposed to single females for 48 h averaged 44.9%. Percent parasitization of eggs within parasitized masses ranged from 3.5 to 100 (-/x = 53.1%). Host feeding by female T. gallerucae destroyed approximately 65% of the eggs presented. The number of eggs in an egg mass and the number of parasitized eggs in a mass had no effect on the percentage of males produced.
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