Abstract:

The reproduction characteristics of Aprostocetus prolixus, which is a new parasitioid on Apriona germarii, were studied. It demonstrated that the female adult can generate offspring by either sex reproduction or parthenogenesis, but all the offspring were male if they were from the mode of parthenogenesis. The sex ratio, with investigating in nature, was 2.38∶1. The environmental conditions had notable influence on sex ratio, survival ratio and fecundity. Its sex ratio increased to 3.48∶1 by feeding complementary nutrition that adding with 20% honey. The temperature has great effect on Aprostocetus prolixus in terms of system research, of which adult longevity decreased with temperature from 17.5 ℃ to 35 ℃ and its ability of reproduction increased between 25 ℃ and 30 ℃ but the acme at 27.5 ℃. Without the feeding complementary nutrition, on the other hand, the female adult will both lose the ability of fecundity at the temperature below 17.5 ℃ and over 35 ℃. With humidity increasing from 40% to 80%, its fecundity increased significantly. It also showed that there was no significant influence of temperature on fecundity between the 4 ℃ to 8 ℃ when cold storage( I.e. the matured larvae for 90 d, the adults for 10 d and the host egg for 40 d).

Key words: Apriona germarii, Aprostocetus prolixus, biological characteristic