Oviposition preference and development of the parasitoid Chelonus insularis on host fed on Zea mays and the teosinte Z. luxurians from Oaxaca, Mexico

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study evaluated the oviposition preference and development of the parasitoid Chelonus insularis (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) on Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) fed on maize Zea mays and the teosinte Z. luxurians from Oaxaca, Mexico. For the oviposition preference test, an unmated and naïve C. insularis female, and egg masses of S. frugiperda that in the larval stage were fed on maize or teosinte were used. The experiment was repeated 52 times in paired treatments. For the development of C. insularis, 178 larvae of S. frugiperda were fed on maize and 159 larvae on teosinte. Chelonus insularis did not distinguish between eggs from hosts fed on maize or teosinte. The development of parasitoid on maize and teosinte was similar, except for the period of time from oviposition to adult emergence, with 24.24 and 26.51 d, respectively. Parasitism of S. frugiperda eggs was greater than 77%. Larval survival rate was greater than 93% and pupal rate greater than 74%. The emergence of healthy adults varied between 76 and 91% and the sex ratio was biased to males.