Eclosion and adult longevity traits ofRhagoletis tabellaria(Diptera: Tephritidae) andUtetes tabellariae(Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in the laboratory

Abstract

AbstractEclosion times and rates ofRhagoletis tabellaria(Fitch) (Diptera: Tephritidae) and its parasitoid waspUtetes tabellariae(Fischer) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) held at different chilling durations were determined in the laboratory. Adult fly and wasp longevity were also determined. Adult female and male flies fromR. tabellariapuparia chilled for 195 days at 4.8 °C and then held at 23.2 °C eclosed on average earlier thanU. tabellariaereared fromR. tabellariapuparia.Rhagoletis tabellariaalso eclosed significantly earlier from puparia chilled for 150 days than 120 days at 2.7 °C, butU. tabellariaeeclosion from the two treatments did not differ significantly.Rhagoletis tabellariaeclosion rates were greater with longer chill durations, butU. tabellariaeeclosion rates perR. tabellariapuparium did not differ among chill durations. NoR. tabellariaeclosed from nonchilled puparia held at 20–22 °C, but at least 18.8% of nonchilledU. tabellariaeeclosed. Female and maleR. tabellariaon average survived 52.1 and 83.3 days, respectively, while female and maleU. tabellariaesurvived 37.7 and 28.7 days, respectively. Results indicate diapause and developmental traits ofR. tabellariamay be more dependent on chilling durations and less flexible than those ofU. tabellariae, a wasp that appears adapted to flies in theR. tabellariaspecies complex.