Comparison of life table parameters of Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia, and its parasitoid, Diaeretiella rapae under constant temperatures

This study was conducted to determine the effects of four constant temperatures (10, 15, 20 and 25±1 ºC) on life table parameters of Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and its parasitoid Diaeretiella rapae (McIntosh) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) as a step toward efficient biological control of Russian wheat aphid. The survival rates (lx) of D. noxia and D.rapae decreased with increasing temperature. The Kolmogrov-Smirnov test revealed significant difference between survivorship of D.noxia and D. rapae at different constant temperatures. The highest life expectancy of D. noxia and D. rapae was observed at 10ºC and were 45.69 and 19.61 days, respectively. The highest Ro-value for D. rapae was obtained at 10 ºC. The rm-value of D. rapae was higher than D. noxia at 10 ºC and it was exactly equal for both Russian wheat aphid and its parasitoid at 15 ºC. The mean generationtime of D. rapae was significantly shorter than D. noxia at all examined temperatures. The obtained results of this research showed that D. rapae is potentially able to control D. noxia, especially at 10 and 15 °C.