1992/02/01 by E. Forsse, Sandy M. Smith, S. M. Smith +2 · 1 citation
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Hymenoptera taxonomy and phylogeny #Insect-Plant Interactions and Control #Plant and animal studies
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1570-7458.1992.tb00654.x
openalex publication_date 1992/02/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Abstract Emergence, preening, and flight initiation were studied in laboratory‐reared Trichogramma minutum Riley (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae). Male parasitoids emerged first and flew before females. When both sexes were present in flight cylinders, female parasitoids flew before males. Flight propensity in males was negatively related to the number of emerging females, while flight propensity in females was independent of the number of males present. Ambient temperature significantly affected the propensity and timing of flight; between 70–80% of the parasitoids flew at 25 and 30 °C while less than 4%, mostly males, flew at 20 °C. No flights were observed at 15 °C. The presence of fresh host eggs caused a reduction in the proportion of female parasitoids that flew and a delay in the time to flight for the females that did fly. The presence of food increased the flight propensity of female parasitoids, but did not affect the timing of flight. The relationship between flight behaviour and the ‘efficiency’ of mass‐reared Trichogramma is discussed in terms of its importance for inundative release programmes.