Abstract
Apanteles cerialis Nixon, a thelytokous braconid parasitoid ofBoarmia (Ascotis) selenaria Schiff., attacks young caterpillars (preferably 2–5 days old) of this pest in avocado plantations of Israel. At 27±1°C, oviposition rate is 2.04 progeny per day and 18.3 progeny over the entire life span. The development time of preimaginal stages is 16.1 and 15.2 days at 25° and 30°C, respectively, and increases to 37.3 days at 17°C. The pupal stage averages 4.4 days at 30°C and 13.5 days at 17°C. The average longevity of adults is 24.2 and 7.9 days at 30° and 17°C, respectively. In avocado orchardsA. cerialis appeared in considerable numbers in late summer and autumn; it was slightly hyperparasitized by the ichneumonid waspStictopisthus sp. (1 and 2% of the samples at one site).
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Publication of the Agricultural Research Organization. No. 274-E, 1980 series.
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Wysoki, M., Izhar, Y. Biological data onApanteles cerialis Nixon (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a parasite ofBoarmia (Ascotis) selenaria Schiff. (Lepidoptera: Geometridae). Phytoparasitica 9, 19–25 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03158325
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03158325