Effects of Five Naturally Occurring Sugars on the Longevity,Oogenesis, and Nutrient Accumulation Pattern in Adult Females of the Synovigenic Parasitoid Neochrysocharis formosa (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae)

Neochrysocharis formosa (Westwood) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), one of the dominant natural enemies of agromyzid leafminers, is a synovigenic parasitoid. We compared the longevity, oogenesis, and nutrient levels of female wasps provided with 10% solutions of five naturally occurring sugars. All five sugars significantly increased the longevity of female wasps, which was 6.5–9.3-fold higher than that of parasitoids provided with water only. We found no significant difference in longevity of female wasps fed on glucose versus fructose or trehalose versus melezitose, but longevity of wasps fed on glucose or fructose was significantly longer than those fed on trehalose or melezitose. Also, we examined the oosorption capability of wasps fed on the five sugars. Some mature eggs were present in the ovaries of newly emerged females, but these were fully reabsorbed within 72 h when wasps were starved. Once wasps were fed with any of the sugars, the number of mature eggs increased at first and then decreased due to oosorption. The longevity and oogenesis dynamics of female wasps fed on five sugars were related with their function of hydrolysis and digestion. As female wasps have no lipogenesis capability, by acquiring exogenous sugars for oogenesis, they can either maintain or exceed the original level of capital nutrients held on adult emergence because none of the wasps’ glycogen need be metabolized to burn as sugar.