Effects of different concentration of water soluble vitamin mixture on sex ratio of adult Pimpla turionellae L.

In this study, the effects of different concentrations of water-soluble vitamin mixtures on sex ratio of the hymenopterous endoparasitoid Pimpla turionellae L. (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) were investigated by using chemically defined synthetic diets. In the experiments, omission of the vitamin mixtures from diet did not significantly affect adult emergence. Although the synthetic diet containing 0.426% vitamin mixture had no positive effect of female emergence in compares to control group, the omission of the vitamin mixtures from the diet or their different levels (0.000% and 0.426%) tested reduced female emergence. It was concluded that the P. turionellae adult diet must contain about 0.284% of water soluble vitamin mixtures for maximal females production. Key Words : Pimpla turionellae, sex ratio vitamin.