Effect of Host Size on Biological Characteristics of Bracon hebetor Say Parasitizing Indian Meal Moth Plodia interpunctella Hübner
Published: 2021-09-02
Page: 177-182
Issue: 2021 - Volume 4 [Issue 4]
Md. Forhad Hossain *
Institute of Food and Radiation Biology, Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, Ashulia, Savar, Dhaka-1349, Bangladesh and Department of Zoology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi-6205, Bangladesh.
Md. Mahbub Hasan
Department of Zoology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi-6205, Bangladesh.
Raosonara Khatun
Department of Zoology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi-6205, Bangladesh.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The parasitoid Bracon hebetor has been successfully used as a biological control agent against some pyralid moths. The present study was conducted to know the impact of host size on the performance of Bracon hebetor to elevate its mass rearing technique. In this experiment, two different sizes of the host (Plodia interpunctella) larvae were infested by one pair of B. hebetor and some biological characteristics of this parasitoid were studied. This investigation showed no significant effect on parasitism rate, pupae number, adult emergence, longevity and developmental period (larval, pupal and total developmental period) due to different host sizes. On the contrary, the sex ratio (P<0.05) and body size (P<0.05) of parasitoids varied significantly with the host size. However further investigation should be focused on the walk-in field cage trials.
Keywords: Biological control, Bracon hebetor, Plodia interpunctella, host size, mass rearing