BIOLOGY OF AGENIASPIS-CITRICOLA (HYMENOPTERA, ENCYRTIDAE), A PARASITOID OF THE LEAFMINER PHYLLOCNISTIS-CITRELLA (LEPIDOPTERA, GRACILLARIIDAE)

Ageniaspis citricola Logvinovskaya produce approximate to 1-10 progeny per leafminer (Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton) host. Virgin females produce only male offspring, indicating that this species is arrhenoto kous. Parasitized leafminer larvae of all life stages were dissected t o observe embryonic development. We observed evidence of polyembryonic development in that early embryonic stages showed holoblastic cleavag e and some later embryos were found in pairs surrounded by a common me mbrane. Only once did we observe >2 embryos surrounded by a common mem brane: four embryos were found in a chain similar in structure to thos e reported for congenerics. Both male and female A. citricola adults w ere short-lived (<5 d at 30 degrees C and 95% RH). Longevity was influ enced by relative humidity: only at 95% RH did parasitoids live >24. h . A. citricola females only oviposited into eggs or 1st-instar leafmin er hosts. Mated A. citricola females produced significantly more proge ny (141.8 +/- 38.9) than did unmated females (84.2 +/- 19.6) when prov ided with an overabundance of hosts. but did not parasitize significan tly more hosts. Instead, mated females produced larger broods per host (2.76 +/- 0.47) compared with unmated females (1.56 +/- 0.26). It is not known whether this was mrs the result of more eggs laid per ovipos ition event, a greater tendency to superparasitize, or a greater degre e of polyembryony.