Demographic and Functional Consequences of Secondary Host Selection in a Facultative Autoparasitoid, Encarsia sophia (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae)

To evaluate the impact of secondary host selection by the autoparasitoid E. sophia on the fitness and biological control potential of its offspring, we compared the demographic traits, parasitism capacity, and host-feeding rates of populations reared on different secondary hosts: the heterospecific E. formosa and the conspecific E. sophia. Analyses conducted with TWOSEX-MSChart, CONSUME-MSChart, and TIMING-MSChart showed that the population reared on E. formosa and E. sophia as secondary hosts. The E. sophia population reared on E. formosa exhibited significantly shorter developmental times, extended adult longevity, and enhanced female reproductive output, characterized by higher fecundity and longer oviposition periods than the conspecific-reared group. This group also displayed superior host consumption, accelerated population growth, a shorter mean generation time, and improved biocontrol efficacy. These findings underscore the importance of secondary host optimization in mass rearing and offer a theoretical basis for improving the field performance of E. sophia.