RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEMPERATURE AND FUNCTIONAL-RESPONSE IN CARDIOCHILES-PHILIPPINENSIS (HYMENOPTERA, BRACONIDAE), A LARVAL PARASITOID OF CNAPHALOCROCIS-MEDINALIS (LEPIDOPTERA, PYRALIDAE)

The relationship between temperature and functional response in Cardio chiles philippinensis Ashmead, a larval parasitoid of the rice leaffol der Cnaphalocrocis medinalis Guenee was examined at 6 temperatures (25 , 28, 30, 33, 35, and 40 degrees C), each at 6 host densities (1, 2, 4 , 8, 16, and 32 3rd instars per arena). A type II functional response model was fit separately to each temperature; R(2) values ranged from 0.74 to 0.93. The highest attack rate was at 28 degrees C; none of the larvae was parasitized at 40 degrees C because the parasitoid was una ble to survive. Parasitism increased from 25 to 28 degrees C but was f ollowed by a decrease with increasing temperature. Handling time was f itted as a quadratic function of temperature, whereas search rate was a linear function of temperature.