Trichogramma dendrolimi Matsumura is an important egg parasitoid that can be used in the biological control of lepidopteran pests. The effects of storage temperature, developmental stage and storage duration on development and survival were investigated to determine the optimum storage conditions for rearing T. dendrolimi in vitro.
RESULTS
The three investigated factors significantly impacted all the biological parameters except for parental G1 and offspring G2 sex ratios. The responses of in vitro reared T. dendrolimi to low temperatures differed depending on developmental stage and storage duration. Comparison of life table parameters under different storage treatments with the control group indicated that storing prepupae at 13 °C for 2, 3 or 4 weeks positively impacted the growth capacity of the parasitoid.