COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY OF DIACHASMIMORPHA LONGICAUDATA (HYMENOPTERA: BRACONIDAE) REARED ON ANASTREPHA FRATERCULUS AND CERATITIS CAPITATA (DIPTERA: TEPHRITIDAE)

The braconid Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Ashmead) is the most widely used parasitoid in biological control programs of tephritids in the Americas. Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann) is a major fruit fly pest of exotic and native fruits in southern Brazil. However, life history parameters such as longevity, sex ratio, preoviposition, oviposition and post-oviposition periods, fecundity and fertility of D. longicaudata using A. fraterculus as host, have not been determined. These parameters were compared to those derived from the better known host, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), the Mediterranean fruit fly. In the laboratory, A. fraterculus was at least as suitable a host for D. longicaudata as C. capitata. Female parasitoids derived from A. fraterculus were larger and had a higher net reproductive rate (R-0). The mean numbers of superparasitism records were higher in A. fraterculus larvae (1.6 +/- 0.22) than in C. capitata (0.4 +/- 0.07). Other variables did not differ between hosts. Given suitable environments D. longicaudata may become established in A. fraterculus populations or successfully mass-reared on this host species and released.