Reproductive performance effects of rearing the quasi-social parasitoid, Sclerodermus brevicornis (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae), on a factitious host.

Wasps in the genus Sclerodermus are ectoparasitoids that typically attack the larvae of woodboring coleopterans. Interest in these species is increasing as they are used in programs to control longhorn beetle pests of economic importance in China and have invasive pest control potential in Europe. Wasps may be mass reared for field release, but using the target host species can be time consuming and physically demanding.