Progeny quality of Gonatocerus ashmeadi (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) reared on stored eggs of Homalodisca coagulata (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae).

This study assessed the effects of refrigerated storage on the suitability of eggs of the glassy-winged sharpshooter, Homalodisca coagulata (Say) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), as hosts for propagation of the parasitoid Gonatocerus ashmeadi Girault (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae). Development of the host eggs was terminated by chilling at 2 degrees C for 5 d before storage was initiated at 10 degresC for up to 70 d. Parasitism, adult emergence rate, developmental time, and sex ratio were used to gauge the suitability of the eggs as hosts after storage. In addition to these measures, demographic growth parameters also were used to assess the quality of the wasp progeny through the F2 generation. Host eggs stored 20 d remained fully acceptable to the wasps for attack. Although the parasitism rate decreased with storage time, > 80% adult parasitoid emergence was realized from eggs stored 30 d. After 70 d storage, adult emergence rate was decreased by 48%, fecundity decreased by 53%, female production by 19%, developmental time was extended 3 d, and female longevity was shortened 5 d. The emergence pattern of F1 but not F2 adults varied with storage time of the parental and grandparental hosts, respectively. For the F1 generation, emergence rate, development, and sex ratio did not vary with storage time when the F1 parents parasitized fresh host eggs. Demographic parameters for the F, population showed that net reproductive rate was > 20 although it decreased significantly after their parental host eggs were stored for > 30 d. The intrinsic and finite rates of increase, population doubling time, and mean generation time decreased only after storage for 60 d. Our results show that short-term cold storage could be used for maintaining wasp populations in a mass-rearing program and that the detrimental effects of chilling host eggs in storage for over 30 d do not extend to F2 generation.