author(s)
Yee May Htet and Takatoshi Ueno

abstract
Many species of insect parasitoids depend on carbohydrate-rich sources to sustain their activity. The present study focused on the effects of sugar-food type (sucrose vs. honey) and concentration on food searching behavior and survival of Itoplectis naranyae, a parasitoid wasp attacking lepidopteran pests of rice. While food type, sugar concentration and wasp age did not affect their feeding responses, males fed on sugar food more often than females, and smaller wasps approached more quickly to food. Sex- or size-linked differences in survival were not detected but wasps that had fed sucrose lived longer. Also, wasp age had a great impact on life expectancy after the last meal, and older wasps had lower life expectancy, suggesting that older wasps have to find a suitable sugar source more frequently. The implications of the present results were discussed in the context of the importance of food on parasitoids.