NOTES ON MATING BEHAVIOR AND OVIPOSITION OF <i>CHRYSOCHARIS LARICINELLAE</i> (HYMENOPTERA: EULOPHIDAE), A PARASITE OF THE LARCH CASEBEARER (<i>COLEOPHORA LARICELLA</i>)

Abstract

Abstract Chrysocharis laricinellae (Ratz.) mated readily in the laboratory when several individuals of both sexes were held together in a vial. The courtship dance performed by the male is described. Parasite females develop mature eggs 3 days after emergence and are apparently capable of resorbing the eggs if hosts are not available, and to produce new ones after host-feeding. Storage of eggs in the ovary for 5 months at 55°F and sterility (phasic castration) of certain individuals is reported. Longevity of egg-laying females at 75°F was about 1 month less than that of parasites that had been denied contact with hosts. Odor apparently plays little or no role in the location of the larch casebearer larvae by C . laricinellae , but chemical surface stimuli seem to exist on the surface of a mine or case of Coleophora laricella (Hbn.). The parasite is also stimulated by vibrations of the host in its case. The oviposition and host-feeding pattern of C . laricinellae is described. Host-feeding on fourth-instar larvae of the larch casebearer contributed little to host mortality.