BioControl (2000) 45, 389-399

R.C. Bautista, N. Mochizuki, J.P. Spencer, E.J. Harris and D.M. Ichimura (2000)
Effects of depth of oviposition dish and age of rearing host on efficiency of mass production of thetephritid fruit fly parasitoid Psyttalia fletcheri
BioControl 45 (4), 389-399
Abstract: Psyttalia fletcheri is a solitary larval endoparasitoid of the melon fruit fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae. Initially colonized in 1985, mass production of P. fletcheri for the last 10 years has been facilitated with a rearing method developed earlier. However, the level of parasitoid recovery seldom exceeded 35%. We examined the parasitoid's developmental biology and behavior to identify the procedures that may improve efficiency of production. We found that by limiting the depth of oviposition dish (receptacle that holds the host larvae during exposure to female parasitoids) to 4 mm and using 4-d-old (late 2nd instar) B.cucurbitae larvae for oviposition, parasitoid yield was increased two-fold.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Ernest J. Harris

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
rearing/culturing/mass production

---

Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Zeugodacus cucurbitae
Psyttalia fletcheri (parasitoid)	Zeugodacus cucurbitae