Optimizing Mass Rearing of the Egg Parasitoid, , for Control of the Brown Stink Bug, .

The parasitoid Ashmead, 1893 is used in biological control programs in Brazil against eggs of (Fabricius, 1798), a key pest of soybean, (L.) Merr. To optimize the mass production of parasitoids, artificial diets and storage of host eggs at low temperatures have been developed; however, direct comparisons of the effects of these conditions have not occurred. We assessed a double factorial arrangement composed of six treatments (fresh or cryopreserved eggs from adults fed on natural or two artificial diets). We evaluated the biological characteristics and parasitism capacity of produced from these treatments across seven temperatures. The thermal range between 21 and 30 °C resulted in satisfactory daily parasitism in all treatments tested, with an inverse relationship between temperature and female survival. The best parasitoid biological parameters were found between 21 and 27 °C, where all tested diets supported development, with the best results from artificial diets. Fresh eggs and those frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at -196 °C until use supported parasitoid development. These results suggest that the best method to mass rear is to use artificial diets to rear and store eggs until needed, and then rear parasitoids at 24 °C.