Translator Disclaimer
1 February 2005 Effects of Temperature, Host Instar, and Adult Feeding on Progeny Production by the Endoparasitoid Venturia canescens (Gravenhorst) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae)
Panagiotis A. Eliopoulos, George J. Stathas
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Laboratory studies were conducted on the effect of temperature and host instar on lifetime and age-specific fertility of honey-fed and starved adults of Venturia canescens Gravenhorst (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) parasitizing larvae of Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). The relationships between the number of progeny produced with adult longevity and body size also were investigated. Highest mean fertility of honey-fed wasps was recorded at 20°C, followed, in decreasing order, by 25, 30, and 15°C, with most offspring emerging during the first 5 d. In contrast, temperature did not have a strong effect on progeny production in the case of starved adults. Provision of adult parasitoids with honey resulted in a significant increase in production of total offspring at all temperatures. Wasps that parasitized second-instar hosts produced significantly fewer descendants than those that oviposited in third- to fifth-instar hosts, which produced similar numbers of offspring. Interactions between temperature and feeding were significant. The total number of offspring produced by honey-fed adults increased with longevity and body size, regardless of temperature or host instar. Conversely, number of progeny produced by starved wasps was correlated only with body size.

Panagiotis A. Eliopoulos and George J. Stathas "Effects of Temperature, Host Instar, and Adult Feeding on Progeny Production by the Endoparasitoid Venturia canescens (Gravenhorst) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae)," Environmental Entomology 34(1), 14-21, (1 February 2005). https://doi.org/10.1603/0046-225X-34.1.14
Received: 8 June 2004; Accepted: 1 October 2004; Published: 1 February 2005
JOURNAL ARTICLE
8 PAGES

This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
+ SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

Share
SHARE
KEYWORDS
biological control
fertility
offspring
parasitoid
stored products
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top