Immature Stages of Leptopilina boulardi (Hymenoptera: Eucoilidae), a Protelean Parasite of Drosophila spp. (Diptera: Drosophilidae)

Leptopilina boulardi (Barbotin et al.), a larval parasitoid of Drosophila spp., possesses a stalked egg, eucoiliform first- and second-stage larvae, and hymenopteriform third-, fourth-, and fifth-stage larvae, followed by a pupal and pharate adult stage. Host age at oviposition significantly affects parasitoid development, whereas host development is in turn affected by the presence of the parasitoid larva and host age when parasitized. The fact that, regardless of sex, adults from hosts parasitized within a 2-h period emerge over 5 days suggests that a density-independent component influences development time.