Assessment of the suitable egg density for parasitism by T. armigera

The experiments consisted of determining the egg density needed for T. armigera parasitism. The test was carried out with 3 different host species (C. ignefusalis, C. cephalonica, and H. albipunctella). For each host species, the treatments were as follows: i) one (1) T. armigera female confined with 10 eggs of one host species; ii) one (1) T. armigera female confined with 30 eggs of one host species; and iii) one (1) T. armigera female confined with 125 eggs of one host species. For each treatment and each host species, we used 12 replicates. The female parasitoid and eggs were confined for 6 days, corresponding to the period in which new progeny will start emerging. Data on parasitism and emerging adults was collected.