Protein, lipid, and glycogen levels in the parasitoid Bracon hebetor Say (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

Abstract

This study compared the protein, lipid, and glycogen reserves in recently emerged unfed female and male Bracon hebetor Say (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) to those in 5- and 10-day-old wasps fed honey. Galleria mellonella (Linnaeus) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) and Ephestia kuehniella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) were used as host species. The mean level of protein in both sexes increased significantly from emergence to day 5, and then returned to emergence levels on day 10 in females, but remained constant in males during the same period. In honey-fed females glycogen levels increased significantly during the first 10 days of life; however, there was no significant increase in males. High levels of lipid were observed in 1-day-old females and males, and levels declined with age in wasps that were fed; the decrease in lipid levels was more pronounced in females than in males.