The Influence of Diet upon the Adult Life Span of Two Species of Bracon

The life span of adult females of Bracon serinopae Cherian (= Habrobracon serinopae ) and Bracon hebetor Say (= Habrobracon juglandis Ashmead) was determined when fed a daily diet consisting either of Anagasta larvae or a honey-water mixture. Anagasta -fed females are fertile while honey-fed females are sterile. For the two stocks of B. serinopae honey-fed females lived more than twice as long as Anagasta -fed females. For B. hebetor , there was no difference in life span for stock No. 1, a small difference in life span for stock No. 33, and a large difference for stock No. 25+/c between the honey-fed and Anagasta -fed groups. In Bracon , the life span of the females seems to be independent of their fecundity. The genotype of the organism is a determining factor in the role of nutrition in relation to longevity.