Abstract
Abstract Type of ovariole, oocyte maturation, and ovigeny pattern in the parasitoid Gonatopus bonaerensis Virla (Hymenoptera: Dryinidae) were studied using two species of Delphacidae as hosts. The ovaries of G. bonaerensis are composed of three polytrophic meroistic ovarioles. Females are autogenic and the initial egg load averages 3.7 mature eggs. G. bonaerensis is a strongly synovigenic species when parasitizing its usual host, Delphacodes sitarea Remes Lenicov and Teson (Hem.: Delphacidae); however, when attacking the non-preferred host Peregrinus maidis (Ashmead) (Hem.: Delphacidae), it is weakly synovigenic. Although the number of mature oocytes increases 3.8-fold during the first 48 h after the emergence, egg numbers decrease significantly in females that spend over 72 h deprived of hosts, apparently as a result of resorption. These results are discussed in the context of rearing and manipulating G. bonaerensis as a biocontrol agent of planthoppers, which are vectors of phytopathogens.
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