Kraaijeveld, A.R., & van Alphen, J.J.M. 1986 Host-stage selection and sex allocation by Epidinocarsis lopezi (Hymenoptera; Encyrtidae), a parasitoid of the cassava mealybug, Phenacoccus manihoti (Homoptera; Pseudococcidae).. Mededelingen Faculteit Landbouwwetenschappen Rijksuniversiteit Universiteit 51(3a): 1067-1078.

Notes: [This paper was presented at the XXXVIII International Symposium on Crop Protection held in Gent, Belgium in 1985.] Host-stage selection and sex allocation by females of the parasite Epidinocarsis lopezi were investigated in the laboratory in an evaluation of the encyrtid as a biological control agent against its host Phenacoccus manihoti on cassava in Africa. The parasite preferred 3rd-instar nymphs of P. manihoti to 2nd- and 4th-instar nymphs; adults and 1st-instar nymphs were the least preferred. Females could discriminate between parasitized and unparasitized hosts and usually rejected the former. Most females emerged from 4th-instar nymphs and fewest from adults. Second-instar nymphs produced almost exclusively males, and parasite survival in 1st-instar nymphs was negligible. Hosts containing female parasite larvae grew larger before mummifying than those containing males, and mummy size predicted the size of the emerging adults well. For female parasites, size was correlated with fitness.