Biology and Morphology of Chelonus sp. nr. curvimaculatus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) as a Parasitoid of Pectinophora gossypiella (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)
A general description of the life stages of Chelonus sp. nr. curvimaculatus, an
egg-larval parasitoid of pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders), is presented.
Pink bollworms were reared in the laboratory on a wheat germ diet.
At 29°C, parasitoid eggs (0.12-0.18 mm) begin to eclose ***22 h after oviposition.
Three instars occur in this species.
The 1st instar is endoparasitic and ranged in length from 0.14 mm (neonate) to 1.25 mm (**9 d old,end of the 1st stadium).
The 2nd instar also is endoparasitic and is 1.89-3.04 mm long.
This stadium lasts «*2-3 d.
The 3rd instar is an average of 3.82 mm long and is endoparasitic early in its development but becomes ectoparasitic toward the completion of its development.
This stadium lasts = 3 d. The pupal stage lasts «*6-7 d.
Adult parasitoids begin to emerge «=21 d after oviposition.
Parasitized and unparasitized pink bollworm larvae developed through 4 stadia.
Larval head capsule widths, body lengths, and weights of parasitized pink bollworms are
significantly smaller than those of unparasitized larvae during the 3rd and 4th stadia.
Parasitized 4th-instar pink bollworms have a mean head width of 0.8687 mm, body length of 6.28 mm, and weight of 6.9 mg.
Fourth-instar unparasitized pink bollworm measurements were 1.0743 mm, 9.31 mm, and 17.7 mg, respectively.