Evaluation of the Effect of Some Food Sources on Life Indicators of the Parasitoid Psytalia concolor

Zrayki, M., A.N. Bashir and Gh. Ibrahim. 2022. Evaluation of the Effect of Some Food Sources on Life Indicators of the Parasitoid Psytalia concolor. Arab Journal of Plant Protection, 40(4): 307-314. https://doi.org/10.22268/AJPP-40.4.307314 This study aimed to evaluate the effect of some food sources on some of the biological indicators of the parasitoid Psytalia concolor (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). In the sugar diet, the following sugar sources were used: sucrose and yeast, glucose, fructose, sucrose, honey solution, and the honeydew obtained from the black scale olive insect Saissetia oleae and Euphyllura olivina, and water as control. In the protein diet, the amino acids tryptophan, phenylalanine and proline were used, with a mixture of them and distilled water as control. The results obtained showed differences in the effect of sugar type on the life span of both males and females, and the females' life span were longer than the males' life span in all tested groups, suggesting that the female's food requirements were higher than that of the males to provide energy for maturation and laying eggs. Results obtained also showed that P. concolor females fed on sucrose had lower average life span compared to other tested sugars and solid food. The protein feeding of the P. concolor parasitoid is very important because the females depend on the protein nutrition of the flowers to complete their sexual maturity. Nutrients such as proteins, amino acids and vitamins are also important for the activity and effectiveness of the insect parasitoids . Keywords: Psytalia concolor, glucose, honeydew, amino acids, Proline