Biology of Eumicrosoma sp. (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) reared on the eggs of black bug, Dimorphopterus gibbus (Fabricius) (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae) of sugarcane

Biology and mass multiplication technique of Eumicrosoma sp, on eggs of sugarcane black bug, Dimorphopterus gibbus (Fabricius) were developed. The mean per cent parasitisation of host eggs, developmental period, and adult emergence of the parasitoid were 41.33 to 61.05 percent, 8.65 to 10.26 days, and 75.0 to 90.0 per cent, respectively. The parasitoid preferred to parasitise freshly laid to two day old eggs. Longevity of adult wasps was 2.15 to 2.99 days. One mated female parasitised on an average 15.67 eggs. Sex ratio (male to female) was 1:1 to 1:1.1. Only one wasp emerged from one parasitised egg thus it indicates no super parasitism in this parasitoid.