Numerical Response of Campoletis chloridae Uchida (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), a parasitoid of Heliothis armigera (Hubner) (Lepidoptera : Noctuidae)

Abstract

With the increase of parasitoid density the number of emerging offspring increases upto four parasitoids, then shows a tendency towards stabilisation. The rate of multiplication is maximum with one parasitoid on 50 hosts. The rate of multiplication has an inverse relationship with the parasitoid density. This is the most significant trend exhibited during this study. The fact that more parasitoids have a lower rate of multiplication shows the existence of intraspecific competition amongst the parasitoid.