Demographic and Functional Consequences of Secondary Host Selection in a Facultative Autoparasitoid, Encarsia sophia (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae)

To evaluate the impact of secondary host selection by the autoparasitoid <i>E. sophia</i> on the fitness and biological control potential of its offspring, we compared the demographic traits, parasitism capacity, and host-feeding rates of populations reared on different secondary hosts: the heterospecific <i>E. formosa</i> and the conspecific <i>E. sophia</i>. Analyses conducted with TWOSEX-MSChart, CONSUME-MSChart, and TIMING-MSChart showed that the population reared on <i>E. formosa</i> and <i>E. sophia</i> as secondary hosts. The <i>E. sophia</i> population reared on <i>E. formosa</i> exhibited significantly shorter developmental times, extended adult longevity, and enhanced female reproductive output, characterized by higher fecundity and longer oviposition periods than the conspecific-reared group. This group also displayed superior host consumption, accelerated population growth, a shorter mean generation time, and improved biocontrol efficacy. These findings underscore the importance of secondary host optimization in mass rearing and offer a theoretical basis for improving the field performance of <i>E. sophia</i>.