how does honeydew compare with other sugar sources?
Parasitoids commonly forage in agricultural settings where the predominant sugar source is homopteran honeydew. The aphidiine braconid, Binodoxys communis, is an Asian parasitoid currently being released against the soybean aphid, Aphis glycines, in North American soybean fields. We conducted a number of laboratory experiments evaluating the quality of A. glycines honeydew as a sugar source for this parasitoid. Wasps readily fed on droplets of A. glycines honeydew, honey and 50% sucrose solution, but the length of feeding bouts on honey was significantly longer than on the other foods. Parasitoids lived significantly longer when fed honey or sucrose than honeydew, while starved wasps had the shortest lifespan. At 21+/-1 degrees C and 25+/-5% R.H., male B. communis that were fed honey lived for a maximum of 14 days, while females lived up to 20 days. Honeydew-fed wasps of both sexes lived approximately 3 days on average, which was 2-3 times longer than when they were only allowed access
