Offspring in Response to Parental Female Densities in the Fruit Fly Parasitoid Diachasmimorpha Longicaudata (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Opiinae) (Report‪)‬

Translation provided by the authors. The major natural enemies of tephritid fruit flies in Brazil are members of the families Braconidae, Figitidae, and Pteromalidae (Hymenoptera) (Garcia & Corseuil 2004). Parasitoid mass rearing, required for biocontrol via augmentative release, must be directed to optimize production of females rather than males (Carey et al. 1988). A higher female-biased sex ratio can be more efficient in applied biocontrol efforts with parasitoids because females can eliminate the target pest by oviposition and/or by feeding on host fluids themselves (King 2002). Therefore, understanding the different factors affecting off spring sex ratio of the parasitoid species to be mass reared is essential to get efficient parasitoid production (Wong & Ramadan 1992; Heimpel & Lundgren 2000).