The <i>Aphis fabae</i> (Hemiptera: Aphididae)—faba bean combination improves mass rearing efficiency of <i>Binodoxys communis</i> (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

Binodoxys communis (Gahan) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is an aphid parasitoid capable of developing in a wide range of pest aphids. Currently, laboratory rearing of B. communis in China mainly depends on the cotton aphid Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae)-cotton system. Although technically reliable, this method entails high labor demands, extensive space requirements, and overall elevated costs. To identify a more efficient aphid-plant combination for mass rearing of B. communis, we evaluated this parasitoid's developmental performance, population growth, and rearing cost-effectiveness on four aphid-plant combinations: A. gossypii-cotton (Ago-Cot), A. gossypii-zucchini (Ago-Zuc), bean aphid Aphis fabae Scopoli (Hemiptera: Aphididae)-faba bean (Afa-FB), and greenbug Schizaphis graminum (Rondani) (Hemiptera: Aphididae)-wheat (Sgr-W). The Afa-FB and Sgr-W combinations shortened the developmental time of B. communis from larva to adult. Analysis of age-stage, two-sex life table showed that female parasitoids reared on Afa-FB reached their peak reproductive value earlier and reproduced at a higher level than those reared on the other three combinations, indicating enhanced reproductive potential. Comparative evaluation of rearing cycles further revealed that parasitizing A. fabae reared on faba bean supported rapid and consistently high rates of mummy formation, along with the highest rate of parasitism (38.68 ± 0.69%), highlighting the strong parasitic potential of the Afa-FB combination. Moreover, cost analysis indicated that, compared with the other three combinations, Afa-FB produced the highest number of mummies and had the lowest total material and labor costs (9.18 USD per 10,000 mummies), offering economic advantages. In conclusion, the Afa-FB combination represents a promising approach for more efficient mass rearing of B. communis.