Development of Pseudacteon nocens (Diptera: Phoridae) on Solenopsis invicta and Solenopsis richteri fire ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).

We studied the developmental performance of the large morph of Pseudacteon nocens Borgmeier (Diptera: Phoridae), a prospective biological control agent of imported fire ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). We measured selected life history traits of this parasitoid as a function of 1) host species (Solenopsis invicta Buren versus Solenopsis richteri Forel), 2) temperature (22 versus 28 degrees C), 3) source population of the fly (Corrientes and Santiago del Estero, Argentina), and 4) varied size distributions of offered host ants. Developmental periods were influenced by host species, although the populations responded in opposing manners.