Effect of different diet regimes of Mediterranean flour moth Ephestia kuehniella (Zeller) on biological characteristics and life table parameters of Habrobracon hebetor Say (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) under laboratory conditions

In this study, the effect of host diet on biological characteristics and life table parameters of Habrobracon hebetor Say (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) against the Mediterranean flour moth, Ephestia kuehniella (Zeller) was studied in the laboratory. The diets used were wheat, barley, rice, soybean+wheat, soybean and corn. The prasitoids were studied for three generations. The developmental periods of the female parasitoid in third generation were 11.24, 12.09, 11.60, 11.62, 11.17 and 12.44 days on above mentioned diets, respectively. Total preadult survivals of parasitoid on aforementioned diets in third generation were 0.71, 0.66, 0.74, 0.87, 0.78 and 0.71%, respectively. Sex ratio (% female) of parasitoid in the third generation on larvae fed by aforementioned diets were 35.86, 48.34, 20.5, 31.31, 36.55 and 35.04%, respectively. On above diets, and in third generation, female parasitoid longevity were 39.60, 34.03, 33.53, 28.96, 33.86 and 38.80 days, mean total eggs were 921.88, 708.68, 702.46, 548.77, 505.96 and 597.76 eggs, and intrinsic rate of increase were 0.267, 0.255, 0.216, 0.248, 0.257 and 0.228, respectively. In total wheat regime is recommended as the best regime of Mediterranean flour moth for development and reproduction of H.hebetor.