The influence of diet and the presence of fruit fly hosts on the egg load dynamics of the parasitoid Diachasmimorpha kraussii (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

This study investigated the egg maturation rates and the effect of feeding and starvation on the egg load dynamics of Diachasmimorpha kraussii (Fullaway), a parasitoid of the Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt). Three day old unfed parasitoids had significantly more mature eggs than 3-d old fed wasps. No egg resorption was observed in these parasitoids. When exposed to a physiologically suitable host, parasitoids had a higher egg load than those exposed to a physiologically unsuitable host. Manipulation of the wasp’s feeding status, or exposure to suitable hosts, might help improve the reproductive potential of this parasitoid if bred for inundative release.