Project Directorate of Biological Control, Post Bag No. 2491, H.A. Farm Post, Bellary Road, Bangalore - 560 024, Karnataka, (India).
1Scientist (Sr. Scale), Division of Crop Protection, Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Rae Bareli Road, Dilkusha, P.O., Lucknow - 226 002, U.P. (India), E-mail: arunbaitha@rediffmail.com.
Studies on host preference of Tetrastichus howardi (Olliff) on nine host insects in the laboratory at 25±2°C and 65±5 per cent R.H. indicated that the most preferred host was Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) followed by Spodoptera litura (Fabricius), Phthorimaea operculella Zeiler and Chilo partellus (Swinhoe). T. howardi failed to parasitise the pupae of Spilosoma obliqua Walker and Plutella xylostella Linnaeus. The development period in various host insects ranged from 16.0 days on Opisina arenosella Walker to 19.0 days on Galleria melonella (Linnaeus). The number of progeny produced varied from 27.20 to 79.80 on various hosts. Maximum progeny was produced in S. litura followed by H. armigera. The sex-ratio (% female) ranged from 90–96.4% on various host insects.
