Life table of Tamarixia radiata (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) on Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) at different temperatures.

Tamarixia radiata (Waterston, 1922) is the main parasitoid of Diaphorina citri (Kuwayama, 1907), and has been used in classical biological control programs in several countries. The current study investigated the biology and determined the fertility life table of T. radiata in different temperatures, to obtain information to support the establishment of a biological control program for D. citri in Brazil. Fifth-instar nymphs of D. citri were offered to females of T. radiata for parasitism, for 24 h. Then, the parasitoid was removed and the nymphs were placed in incubators at 15, 20, 25, 30, or 35 +/- 1 degrees C, 70 +/- 10% RH, and a 14-h photophase. The percentages of parasitism and emergence, the sex ratio, and the preimaginal period of T. radiata were determined. The fertility life table was developed from the biological data. The highest parasitism rate (77.24%) was obtained at a temperature of 26.3 degrees C, and the lowest parasitism rates occurred at 15 and 35 degrees C (23.1 and 40.2%, respectively). The highest percentages of emergence of the parasitoid occurred at 25, 30, and 35 degrees C (86.7, 88.3, and 78.8%, respectively), with the calculated peak at 30.8 degrees C (89.90%). The duration of the preimaginal developmental period for both females and males of T. radiata was inversely proportional to temperature in the thermal range of 15-35 degrees C. The development of T. radiata occurred at all temperatures studied, and the highest viability of the preimaginal period occurred at 25 degrees C. The highest values of net reproductive rate and finite growth ratio (lambda) were observed at 25 degrees C, so that in each generation the population of T. radiata increased 126.79 times, higher than the values obtained at the other temperatures.