Effects of host stage on the development of the facultative autoparasitoid Encarsia tricolor (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae)

Encarsia tricolor is a facultative autoparasitoid of the glasshouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum, with a potential in biological control. The rate of development, number of mature oocytes at emergence, number of ovarioles and size of the emerged adults were studied. Five nymphal instars (N1, N2, N3, N4, and pharate adult) of T. vaporariorum were used as hosts for the females. Female larvae and pupae of E. tricolor and Encarsia formosa were used as hosts for the males. Females developed faster when the egg was laid on N3 (18.0 days from egg to adult) and slower on N1 (22.3 days). Females were bigger when developing from N1 and N3 than from N4 and pharate adult. On emergence the mean number of mature oocytes was always small (0.8–2.6). Males developed faster and were smaller than females, and developed faster and were larger on larvae of E. formosa.