Ja. Morales-ramos et al., Differences in reproductive potential of two populations of Catolaccus grandis (Hymenoptera : Pteromalidae) and their hybrids, FLA ENTOMOL, 83(2), 2000, pp. 137-145
A new colony of the boll weevil ectoparasitoid Catolaccus grandis was intro
duced from Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico to improve vigor of a 12-year-old labor
atory reared stock in Weslaco, Texas. The biological characteristics of the
introduced colony were compared to those of the Weslaco colony and a cross
breed of these 2 colonies. Developmental time was not significantly differe
nt among the 3 colonies, but the preovipositional period of the Sinaloa fem
ales was 3 times as long compared to the other 2 colonies. The fecundity, n
et reproductive rate (R-o), and intrinsic rate of increase (r(m)) of female
s from Sinaloa were significantly lower than those of females from Weslaco
and the hybrid colony. Generation time (G) and doubling time (DT) were sign
ificantly longer in the Sinaloa colony. These characteristics make the Sina
loa population less desirable for mass propagation and release to control b
oll weevil populations than the Weslaco colony. The biological and populati
on parameters of the hybrid colony were not significantly different from th
ose of the Weslaco population. The implications of the observed results on
the mass propagation and release strategies against the boll weevil are dis
cussed and recommendations are presented.