Abstract
An optical method, alternate lighting, is proposed to increase the oviposition activity of parasitoid wasps. The Mediterranean flour moth Ephestia kuehniella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) is a substitute host for rearing Meteorus pulchricornis (Wesmael) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a parasitoid wasp of exposed-living lepidopteran pests, but its low autonomous oviposition in E. kuehniella larvae had to be improved. We attempted to enhance the oviposition behavior of M. pulchricornis by increasing the movement of E. kuehniella larvae through negative phototaxis by alternate LED lighting. Alternate lighting at 5 min intervals approximately tripled the movement of E. kuehniella larvae and almost doubled the number of eggs laid by M. pulchricornis into them. Silk-thread entanglement was a critical problem that decreased intact wasps when they were together with E. kuehniella larvae; however, it could be relieved under alternate lighting.
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