INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE AND HOST AGE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF APANTELES SP.PARASITOID OF ECTROPIS OBLIQUA[LEP.:GEOMETRIDAE]

Laboratory studies were conducted on the effect of temperature and host instars on the development of Apanteles sp.[Hym.:Braconidae],an important parasitoid of tea geometrid,Ectropis obliqua Prout.When the parasitoid larvae were cultured under constant temperntures of 14℃ and 34℃ no adult emergence occurred.When the parasitoid was cultured under the temperatures of 18-30℃, the developmental periodof the immature stages(egg to pupa) shortened as the temperature increased:The initial developmental threshold temperature and effective accumulative temperature were determined as 9.98±2.78℃ and 250.00±46.77 day-degrecs.It is thus postulated that the parasitoid may have ll-13 generations a year in Hangzhou,It was also found that the adult longevity declinced as the temperature increased.The same trend was observed when the parasitoid was reared under the natural fluctuating temperatures.Host age was found to have no significant effect on the egg nor larval developmental periods of the parasitoid;but the pupal and pre-pupal developmental periods shortened as the host instar increased.