Biology of Cotesia flavipes (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) Strains at Different Temperatures.

Currently the area with the inundative release of Cotesia flavipes (Cameron) in the country is approximately 3.5 million hectares per year in regions of tropical and subtropical climate, but there are questions about its efficiency since they are not considered the thermal requirements of the strains used. The objective of the study was to evaluate the biology in different thermal conditions of five C. flavipes strains, from different places of origin. Insects from Paraná (Strain PR), Minas Gerais (Strain MG), Alagoas (Strain AL) and two strains from São Paulo state (SPI and SPII strains) were submitted to different constant temperatures (10, 15, 18, 20, 22, 25, 30, and 32°C), relative air humidity of 70 ± 10% and 12-h photophase. The duration the egg-adult of C. flavipes was inversely proportional to the temperature in the thermal range of 18 to 30°C. No development occurred at temperatures of 10, 15, and 32°C. The highest survival of the biological cycle (egg-adult) (above 70%) occurred in the thermal range of 25 to 28°C. Also, temperatures from 28 to 30°C characterize significantly more females than males (sex ratio > 0.70). Based on the development of the biological cycle, the threshold temperature (Tt) was similar among the C. flavipes strains (ranging from 9.6 to 11.1°C), providing the thermal constants of 229.4 to 273.9 degree-days. The biological control of Diatraea saccharalis (Fabricius 1794) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) may be more efficient to use C. flavipes strains more adapted to the thermal conditions of each region.