Effect of adult food on oviposition period, longevity and fecundity of parasitoid, Goniozus nephantidis (Muesebeck)

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of adult food on the oviposition period, longevity and fecundity of Goniozus nephantidis (Muesebeck) in the biological control laboratory of Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, OUAT, Bhubaneswar from June 2018 to May 2019 on the host, Corcyra cephalonica Stainton. The laboratory experiment was conducted with six treatments and four replications in completely randomized design at 27± 3 0C temperature and 65± 5% RH. Among different adult foods of G. nephantidis, the treatment, water : honey : protinex = 40:40:20 produced the highest oviposition period of 26.54 days, adult female longevity of 36.45 days and fecundity of 65.72 eggs per female followed by the treatment, water : honey : castor pollen = 40:40:20 (24.23 days, 35.12 days and 61.36 eggs/female, respectively). These two treatments were at par and superior to all other treatments. Increase in oviposition period, adult female longevity and fecundity in these two treatments over control (water) were 155.93, 124.58, 197.78% and 133.65, 116.39, 178.02%, respectively.