Biological Parameters for Mass Propagation of Catolaccus grandis (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae)

We studied the influences of mating history, parental age, pupal weight of parasitoids, host deprivation, and host size on the reproductive potential and sex ratio of Catolaccus grandis (Burks), a parasitoid of the boll weevil Anthonomus grandis grandis (Boheman). Absence of hosts for 5 or 10 d reduced the fecundity of C. grandis females by 36.8 and 39.5%, respectively, compared with parasitoids continually exposed to host larvae. An acceptable sex ratio (65% females) in the propagation system was maintained if a ratio of 3 males per female parasitoid was used during the 1st h of mating, immediately after emergence. As female adults aged from 5 to 10 d, the percentage of female progeny increased from 64.0 to 77.2, respectively. However, a further increase in female age, from 20 to 25 d, resulted in a decline in percentage of female progeny from 54.0 to 48.5. The proportion of female progeny increased with the size of the host parasitized. A significant correlation was found between weight of female pupae of C. grandis and their fecundity during the first 30 d of oviposition. These data will be used to optimize mass rearing of C. grandis for inoculative and augmentative releases to suppress boIl weevil populations in cotton fields.