Survival analysis and demographic parameters of the pupal parasitoid Coptera haywardi(Hymenoptera: Diapriidae), reared on Anastrepha fraterculus(Diptera: Tephritidae)

Abstract

Coptera haywardi is an idiobiont pupal parasitoid of Tephritidae, and native to the Neotropical region. A survival analysis using a parametric survival fit approach was performed to generate survival curves and information relevant to mass rearing for augmentative biological control. Survival data for both male and female individuals were fitted to several distributions (Weibull, exponential, loglogistic, and lognormal),and the survival functions were described by means of distribution parameters selected a priori. Parasit-ism rates, adult parasitoid emergence rates, pre-oviposition and oviposition periods, sex ratio, longevity,and tandard life table parameters were also determined. This study is an initial attempt to document the demography ofC. haywardi reared on the damaging and economically important South American fruit fly Anastrepha fraterculus. The results of the study showed that C. haywardireached 7% of daily parasitism, with a female mean lifetime survivorship of 32.52 days and a high net reproduction rate of 17.10. The demographic parame-ters found for C. haywardiwere similar to those recorded for other fruit fly parasitoid species already used with positive results against Tephritidae in augmentative biocontrol programmes. We conclude thatC. haywardiis potentially suitable for mass-rearing to be use in augmentative biolog-ical control programmes of A. fraterculus.