Influence of rearing host on adult size and ovipositional behavior of mass produced female Trichogramma minutum Riley and Trichogramma pretiosum Riley (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae)

The size (body length) of Trichogramma pretiosum Riley and Trichogramma minutum Riley adult females is, to a great extent, dependent on the size of the host egg on which the insect developed. The fecundity of female Trichogramma was dependent on their body size. Two kinds of artificial eggs were used, wax artificial eggs and stretched plastic artificial eggs. Females reared on different hosts were induced to oviposit on artificial eggs with an oviposition stimulus. T. pretiosum reared on Helicoverpa tea (Boddie) and Manduca sexta (Linnaeus) eggs oviposited in 80.0-83.3% of the wax artificial eggs compared with the 49.5% of the wax artificial eggs oviposited in when the parasitoid was reared on Sitotroga cerealella (Olivier) eggs. T. minutum reared on H. tea eggs, an artificial diet in wax artificial eggs, or S. cerealella eggs oviposited in 76.2, 89.3, or 30.9%, respectively, of stretched plastic artificial eggs.