Life History and Host Discrimination of Encarsia deserti (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae), a Parasitoid of Bemisia tabaci (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae)

Abstract

Encarsia deserti males and females develop at 25°C from egg to adult in 11—13 d, but females continue to emerge up to 18 d after pupation. Females live longer than males at 15 and 25°C. Mating occurs 2—48 h after emergence and no eggs producing males were laid by mated females. Females were primary parasitoids of the sweetpotato whitefly, whereas males were secondary, and developed as parasitoids of immature E. deserti females. Mated females laid 63 ± 4.16 and 57.8 ± 4.24 (x ± SEM) eggs per female at constant 25°C and fluctuating 22—30°C, respectively. Mated females discriminated between parasitized and unparasitized hosts that were offered to them on a leaf patch, but unmated ones did not. Superparasitism occurred in all cases, but with unmated females up to 14 eggs were sometimes deposited per host. Mated females preferred to oviposit in third and early fourth instars, and unmated females preferred prepupae and young pupae of E. deserti females.