Life history traits of Ooencyrtus pityocampae (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) reared on Halyomorpha halys eggs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)

The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys Stal (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) originates from Asia and has recently disseminated to America and Europe, where it is considered as an invasive pest of various crops. Developing biological control strategies is necessary, and egg parasitoids are among the best candidates. In this context, the objective of this study was to evaluate the fitness of the egg parasitoid Ooencyrtus pityocampae Mercet (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) reared on H. halys eggs, under laboratory conditions. We specifically investigated the impact of host age, host density and length of exposure on O. pityocampae life history traits. Host age X host density and host age X length of exposure affected the performance of O. pityocampae. The optimal emergence rate of the parasitoid was obtained from one-day-old H. halys eggs and 3 days of exposure. The parasitoid embryonic development ranged from 17.1 to 18.3 days. The mean longevity of O. pityocampae was 44.1 days. This species reproduces by thelytokous parthenogenesis and the female parasitoid produced an average of 42.6 progeny during their lifespan. Pre-oviposition, oviposition and post-oviposition periods were 1.9 days, 18.8 days and 24.8 days, respectively. These results suggest that H. halys is a suitable host for 0. pityocampae, and may help for the development of a pest-management strategy against H. halys.