Abstract

One of the major problems in using the Habrobracon hebetor bee (Say) is the failure to get enough at release. It is therefore necessary to find suitable and effective storage methods to increase its success as a biological control agent against bulky pests and to reduce production costs by increasing the production period. According to available reports, peppers and whole individuals of H. hebetor bees are the most prolonged biological processes than low temperatures. However, storage at low temperatures can affect the important bioassays of insects. Therefore, the effect of different storage periods of complete bees at 4°C (0°C), 1, 3, 7 and 15 days on its biological parameters such as percentage of parasitism, duration and Immature maturity, longevity, regeneration and egg hatching on the third larvae of the third moth, Galleria mellonella L. (26°C ± 1°C, relative humidity 60%, and light period 16 hours of light and 8 hours darkness) Was investigated. Each treatment had 20 replications. Analysis of variance of data based on a completely randomized design with one-way analysis and comparing the mean of data based on Duncan test at 1% probability level and 5% using SAS statistical software. The highest and the lowest immature and immature appearance were obtained in 15 days (11.33 ± 0.33 days) and control (10.93 ± 12.03 days), respectively, which did not show any significant difference between treatments . Parasitism rate in the one-day treatment was highest (94.12 ± 2.28%) and in the seven-day treatment, the lowest (24.44 ± 2.93%) averaged. The highest bee rearing (18.88 ± 1.36 eggs) was obtained in one day and the lowest in fifteen days (4.24 ± 0.55 eggs). The highest and lowest survival rates of bees were obtained in control (22.6 ± 1.22 days) and in the fifteen days (17.23 ± 2.18 days), respectively, which showed a significant difference. The results indicate that storage of adult H. hebetor wasps at 4°C for one week does not have a negative effect on biological parameters of wasps and there is no significant reduction in their performance after release.