Effect of temperature on the reproduction and development of Trichogramma buesi (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae)

At emergence females of Trichogramma had a lot of mature eggs in their ovaries, but some delayed parasitization or refused to parasitize a laboratory host. The effect of constant and alternating temperatures on the percentage of Trichogramma buesi females parasitizing Sitotroga cerealella eggs and the duration of the pre-parasitization period were investigated. The temperature dependencies of the rate of preimaginal development, pre-emergence survival, number of eggs laid daily, and total lifetime fecundity were also determined. As the temperature was increased from 12 to 35°C, the median pre-oviposition period decreased from 5 days to 3 h, with maximum values of 24 and 1.5 days, respectively. The rate of induction of parasitization (reciprocal of duration of the pre-parasitization period of the females that parasitized) increased with temperature like the rate of preimaginal development and average number of eggs laid daily by a parasitizing female. Total cumulative percentage of parasitizing females reached a maximum (ca 60%) at temperatures of 25-30°C, while at 12 and 35°C, respectively, 25 and 50% of females parasitized the S. cerealella eggs. Average lifetime fecundity and pre-emergence survival showed a similar dependence on temperature. The influence of the thermorhythm (25°C for 4 h and 15°C for 20 h) was strongly dependent on its position within the photoperiod. When thermophase coincided with photophase, the percentage of females that parasitized was close to that recorded at a constant temperature of 25°C. But when the high temperature pulse coincided with the dark period, the percentage of parasitizing females was the same as at 15°C. Thus, the temperature dependence of ethogenesis (supposedly, an increase in motivation to parasitize or search for a host) in Trichogramma females was similar to that of morphogenesis, although the reaction to alternating temperatures may have been complicated by interaction with the light : dark regime.