In vitro rearing of Microplitis croceipes (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) on an artificial diet

The larval endoparasitoid, Microplitis croceipes (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), utilizes the tobacco budworm caterpillar, Heliothis virescens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), as its host. Parasitization of H. virescens by M. croceipes ultimately results in host death, giving M. croceipes potential as a biological control agent. Effective biological control programs release the agent, in this case parasitoids, in mass and thus require efficient techniques for rearing the agent. Often, the most cost-effective rearing method is in vitro rearing. Endoparasitoids, like M. croceipes, modify host physiology to meet their developmental needs, which makes rearing these insects in vitro a particularly challenging task. A study was conducted to develop an artificial diet completely devoid of insect components on which to rear M. croceipes. Results suggest that M. croceipes larvae will molt from first to second instar on an artifical diet with a glucose concentration of 12µm/ml but will not develop to pupation.