Effect of temperature on the development and thermal requirements of Wolbachia-infected and antibiotically cured Trichogramma kaykai Pinto and Stouthamer (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae)

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Abstract
The development times and the thermal requirements of Wolbachia-infected and antibiotically cured Trichogramma kaykai Pinto and Stouthamer (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae), using Trichoplusia ni Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) eggs, were assessed at four constant temperatures (15, 20, 25, and 30°C), 70 ± 5% RH, photophase 14 h. The knowledge of temperature effects are very important in helping understand the dynamics of desert organisms like T. kaykai that face extreme temperatures during the season. Cured wasps developed faster at higher temperatures (20, 25, and 30°C) than infected wasps. However, infected wasps developed faster at the lowest temperature (15°C) than cured wasps. Developmental times of cured and infected wasps increased from 7.0 and 7.1 days at 30°C, respectively to 37.3 and 36.7 days at 15°C, respectively. Males developed sooner than females at all temperatures. The developmental thresholds for the progeny of uninfected and infected T. kaykai were 12.0°C and the thermal requirement for development was 127.71 and 132.10 degree-days, respectively.
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