COMPARATIVE REARING OF TRICHOGRAMMA CHILONIS (ISHII) (HYMENOPTERA: TRICHOGRAMMATIDAE) AT DIFFERENT TEMPERATURE CONDITIONS

The present study was conducted to sort out the effective laboratory rearing temperature for egg parasitoid, trichogramma chilonis (ishii) (hymenoptera: trichogrammatidae) by using host eggs, sitotroga cerealella (olivier) at 20, 25, 28, 31, 35 and 40oc in the incubators. biological parameters of parasitoids, t. chilonis such as parasitism (95.6%), developmental period (7.3 days), emergence (98.0%) and adult longevity (9.0 days) were very favorable at 28°c followed by at 25°c (92.8%, 8.3 days, 96.2%, and 10.0 days, respectively). the lower and extreme limits of temperatures were evaluated as 20 and 35°c with prolonged and reduced developmental period, respectively, causing low parasitism and emergence, whereas rearing at 40°c did not support the survival of parasitoids. it is inferred from the results that 28°c temperature is very conducive for rearing of parasitoid to get good development of biological parameters of t. chilonis.