Effect of food supplements on the bionomics and reproductive potential of the wax moth parasitoid, Apanteles galleriae Wilk. (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) [electronic resource].

Includes references.

Supplementation of food with pollens, royal jelly and their combinations had clearly affected the bionomics of the wax moth parasitoid, Apanteles galleriae Wilko The egg-larval duration was shorter when newly emerged females of A. galleriae were fed on pollens (13.5 ± 0A days) or its combination with royal jelly (13.4 ± O.5 days) than the diluted honey (l4.1 ± 0.3 days). Sex ratio was in favor of females in case of pollens (1: 1.3), royal jelly (1: 1.1) and mixture of them compared with diluted honey which was male biased (1:0.9) .The longest life span was for females fed on royal jelly (18.9 ± 1.3 days) followed by pollens (l8.6 ± 1.4 days) then pollen and royal jelly together (18.6 ± 1.7 days). The shortest life span was for females fed on Jliulcd honey (15.1 ± 0.9 days). The number of deposited eggs per female was higher when females were fed on pollens/royal jelly combination (110.4 ± 6.6 egg/female) followed by royal jelly (103.8 ± 15.4 egg/female) then pollens (86.0 ± 5.9 egg/female). The female reproductive potential had also followed the same trend. Such information on the effeeL of food supplements on the bionomics of A. galleriae parasitoid is important for establishing a mass-rearing technique for biological control programs.

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