Reproductive modes and daily fecundity of Aenasius bambawalei (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), a parasitoid of Phenacoccus solenopsis (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae)

Abstract

Summary Reproductive modes and daily fecundity of Aenasius bambawalei Hayat (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), a parasitoid of Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), were elucidated in this experiment. Aenasius bambawale reproduced mainly by gamogenesis and occasionally by arrhenotokous parthenogenesis. Aenasius bambawalei females allocated far more energy sources to their own survival than to reproduction during the mid and late portions of the ovipositional period. Therefore, newly emerged adult parasitoids should be chosen for mass rearing and for use in the biological control of P. solenopsis.