Effect of food supplements on developmental time of Dinarmus basalts (Rond.) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae)

Dinarmus basalis (Rond.) is a larval-pupal ectoparasitoid of Callosobruchus chinensis (Linnaeus) and C. macnlatus (Fabricius). Foods like honey, sugarcane, yeast, agar, and egg yolk, affected the developmental time from egg to adult emergence of the parasitoid Dinarmus differently on C, chinensis and C. macnlatus. Developmental period also varied among sexes of the parasitoid, the male completed development within 10,41 ± 0.04 days, but the female developed in 11.04 ± 0.08 days when parasitizing C. chinensis and feeding on honey. On C. macnlatus and honey, the male D. basalis completed development within 11.16 ± 0.07 days and female took 12.09 ± 0.09 days to complete development. Honey was found to be most effective and agar was less effective host food, in terms of the developmental time of D. basalis.