Biology and Life History of Balcha indica, an Ectoparasitoid Attacking the Emerald Ash Borer, Agrilus planipennis, in North America

Balcha indica Mani and Kaul (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae) is a solitary ectoparasitoid attacking larvae, prepupae, and pupae of the emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae). Its fecundity, oviposition rate, longevity, and development time were determined in the laboratory under standard rearing conditions (25 ± 2° C, 65 ± 10% relative humidity, and 14:10 L:D). Adults lived a mean of 59 days with a maximum of 117 days. Lifetime adult fecundity averaged 36 eggs with a maximum 94 eggs per female. The egg stage lasted for a maximum of four days with ∼ 50% eggs hatched within two days. The development time of the first instars lasted for a maximum of nine days; 50% of the first instars completed their development (i.e., molted to the next instar) within five days. Instars of the intermediate and final stage larvae (after molting of the first instars occurred) could not be distinguished until they reached the pupal stage, and 50% of those larvae pupated ∼ 62 days after adult oviposition. Under the standard rearing conditions, 50% of B. indica took ∼ 83 days to complete the life cycle (from egg to adult emergence) ranging from 47 to 129 days. These results suggest that B. indica may not have more than two generations in the mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions of United States, where normal growing seasons—with average temperature above 25° C—are normally less than six months (May–October). Because of the long life span and oviposition period of adults, however, B. indica is likely to have overlapping generations.