Refinement of rearing technique of a potent larval parasitiod bracon hebetor (Say),(Braconidae: Hymenoptera)

Bracon hebetor is a larval parasitoid of various lepidopterous insect pests. it was reared in laboratory on large scale on a host,waxmoth,galleria mellonella,at different temperature and humidity percentages. galleria mellonella was reared on an artificial diet at 30 ± 1°c and 75 ± 5 % r.h. it was observed in the experiment for storage of pupae that the number of surviving pupae decreased as the storage periods increased. however,the percentage of emergence reduced from 90 to 86% on 15 °c for the 1st and 2nd weeks,respectively. the study on reproductive and post-reproductive life (prl) of the female prarasitoid revealed that the longevity ranged from 17 to 32 days with an average of 23.17 ± 3.80 days. it is assumable that the observed increase in prl,with host density,was due to the females,obtaining more energy by taking more frequent blood-meals from greater number of hosts. © pakistan academy of sciences.