Oviposition behavior of Eumicrosoma blissae (Maki) (Hymenoptera : Scelionidae), an egg parasitoid of the oriental chinch bug, Cavelerius saccharivorus Okajima (Heteroptera ; Lygaeidae)

Abstract

Oviposition behavior of the parasitoid, Eumicrosoma blissae (Maki) toward unparasitized eggs of the oriental chinch bug, Cavelerius saccharivorus Okajima was observed in the laboratory. After the female encountered a host egg mass, her oviposition behavior could be divided into nine discrete steps: drumming, extension of ovipositor sheath, probing, drilling, insertion of ovipositor, withdrawal of ovipositor, withdrawal of ovipositor sheath, marking, and retraction of ovipositor sheath. In some cases, insertion of ovipositor did not occur. The parasitoid egg was found only in hosts where a female exhibited ovipositor insertion and marking. When a female attack a parasitized host, she often marked it without ovipositor insertion after drilling. The duration of marking was long when the ovipositor was inserted. The frequency distribution of the number of attacks per host egg was not random. There was a tendency for E. blissae to attempt to insert its ovipositor in the same host egg only once. The characteristics of the oviposition behavior of E. blissae are discussed in comparison with those of other egg parasitoids.