Cooperators:

The relationship between female Gonatocerus ashmeadi size (hind tibia length) and <24 hr egg load was determined for spring and summer G. ashmeadi generations in Riverside, CA. Female size was positively correlated with egg load for both spring and summer generations with egg load varying from 23-108 eggs per female in spring and 29-118 eggs per female in summer. The use of near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and a wing deterioration index to estimate parasitoid age was also investigated and preliminary results demonstrated that both techniques may show potential for estimating the age of field collected G. ashmeadi. INRODUCTION The self introduced G. ashmeadi (Vickerman et al. 2004) is the key natural enemy of glassy-winged sharpshooter, Homalodisca coagulata, (GWSS) egg masses in California at present (Pilkington et al. 2005). Over summer, parasitism levels of GWSS egg masses and individual eggs in masses by G. ashmeadi approaches 100 % but parasitism levels of the spring generation of GWSS are substantially lower (Pilkington et al., 2005; Triapitsyn and Phillips 2000). Naturally occurring populations of G. ashmeadi in California have been augmented with mass reared individuals from populations found in the southeastern United States and northeastern Mexico which encompasses the home range of GWSS (CDF