The biology of Bracon celer as a parasitoid of the olive fruit fly

Abstract

A series of laboratory experiments was conducted on a colony of Bracon celer Szepligeti (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) reared on the olive fly, Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) (Diptera: Tephritidae). Female B. celer preferentially probe and oviposit into olives containing late third-instar fly larvae. The parasitoid develops as a solitary, ectoparasitic idiobiont. Mean development time (oviposition to adult eclosion) at 22 °C was, for females, 36±1 (SE) days, and for males, 34±1 days. The mean longevity of adult female wasps when provided honey and water was significantly greater than when they were provided water alone, or nothing. The females produced an average of 9.7±7.2 progeny during their lifetimes, but production levels in the insectary colony suggested that this level of fecundity was artificially low and could be improved. The discrepancy may be a consequence of constraints on oviposition behavior imposed by the experimental design. The results are discussed with respect to insectary production methods and the potential use of B. celer as a biological control agent for olive fly in California.