Ooencyrtus nezarae Ishii (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) and Gryon japonicum (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) are major egg parasitoids of Riptortus pedestris (Fabricius) (Hemiptera: Alydidae), a mobile pest on several crops in Korea and Japan. We compared the sensitivity of the two parasitoids to different temperature and relative humidity (RH) conditions to understand their phenological relations. Less than 6 hours old naïve female adult O. nezarae and G. japonicum were individually kept in 50 ml tubes without food and water sources. The tubes were placed in three humidity conditions (50-55, 70-75, and 90-95% RH) in desiccators. These desiccators were then maintained at 20, 25, and 30°C. In each temperature and RH combination 75-76 individuals were assessed for the mortality every 8 hours. G. japonicum was found to survive longer (37-116 hours) in all the temperature and RH combinations than O. nezarae (31-103 hours). Both the two parasitoids survived better in higher RH in all temperatures. The reduced sensitivity to lower humidity by G. japonicum compared to O. nezarae may explain the earlier occurrence of G. japonicum in the spring. The relations with seasonal occurrence of the two parasitoids were discussed.

• Sangwon Kim(School of Bioresource Sciences, Andong National University)
• Bishwo P. Mainali(School of Bioresource Sciences, Andong National University)
• Un Taek Lim(School of Bioresource Sciences, Andong National University)