Role of the larval parasitoid, Bracon hebetor (Say) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in the control of Cadra (Ephestia) cautella and Plodia interpunctella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in Egypt

Document Type : Research and Reference

Author

Biology Dept, Faculty of Education, Ain shams Univ, Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

The larval ectoparasitoid, Bracon hebetor was recorded for the first time from Cadra (Ephestia)
cautella, a harmful pest of date crop in Egypt. The objective of this study was to investigate the
biological control value of B. hebetor against the stored product pests C. cautella and P.
interpunctella at controlled temperatures of 15, 20, 25 and 30oC and relative humidity of 60%
RH. At 25oC, the pre-oviposition, the ovposition and the post-oviposition periods of mated
female B. hebetor were 0.75, 41.25 and 3.0 days. The daily number of eggs laid per female was
7.97 at 25oC. The females lived longer than males at the 4 tested temperatures. The mean
longevity of males under fed honey, host body fluid or water and nothing were 7.7, 7.2, 4.5 and
5.4 days, respectively. The durations of different developmental stages reared on C. cautella
were slightly shorter than those on P. interpunctella. The total number of eggs, the durations of
developmental stages, life span, and longevity were affected significantly by temperatures.
Reproduction performance, host-parasite relationship and sex ratio of the parasitoid were also
discussed.

Keywords

Delta Journal of Science
Volume 36, Issue 3
December 2013
Pages 116-122

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