During mass rearing, adaptation of biological control agents to the rearing environment is a potential problem. Using the parasitoid wasp Trichogramma pretiosum, the performance of 26 highly inbred lines, five composite ‘populations’ (created from the inbred lines) and one insectary‐reared population was compared using fertility life tables. Of the composite populations, three were created with maximal and identical genetic variation as a mixture of all 26 inbred lines, but these were then reared for a different number of generations (2, 6 or 17) before their performance was measured. The remaining two composite populations were created based on the performance of the individual inbred lines: one was a combination of two inbred lines with a high intrinsic rate of natural increase (rm), ‘high rm’; and the other was a combination of two lines with a ‘low rm’. High and low rm populations were reared for two generations prior to testing. Parameters measured were fertility, longevity and sex ratio. We found no difference between the maximally variable population reared for two generations and the ‘high rm’ population (rm = 0.285 and 0.282, respectively). ‘Low rm’ was the population with the lower performance (rm = 0.255). Genetically variable population reared for two generations for 48 h produced significantly more offspring than the populations reared for 6 and 17 generations. Hybrid population derived from the high‐rm lines did significantly better than that derived from the low‐rm lines. Low‐performance populations become more male based than high performance at 48 h. The potential benefits to improve population's performance using inbred lines for mass rearing are discussed.

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Methods B and D allowed COI amplification in all insects, while techniques A, C and E were successful in DNA amplification from insects up to 12 years old. The technique F, the fastest, was useful in insects up to 4 months-old. Finally, we adapted permanent slide preparation in Canada balsam for every technique. The results reported allow for combining morphological and molecular methodologies for taxonomic studies.

Mediante la comparación de sus parámetros poblacionales, fecundidad y tasa sexual, se evaluó el desempeño de cuatro poblaciones de Trichogramma pretiosum Riley: dos líneas puras altamente endogámicas (98%) con bajo y alto desempeño (2 y 43 respectivamente) y dos líneas genéticamente variables (producto de la combinación de 26 líneas puras) con 2 y 40 generaciones. Los resultados muestran que tanto en los parámetros poblacionales Ro, T, λ y rm, como en la fecundidad, la línea  genéticamente variable con dos generaciones presenta los mejores resultados seguido de la genéticamente variable con 40 generaciones, después se ubica a la línea 43 y por último a la línea pura 2. Se compara la fecundidad y proporción sexual observada a las 48 h y total. La fecundidad a las 48 h no presenta diferencias significativas en entre las líneas genéticamente variables y la línea pura 43. La proporción sexual observada a las 48 h, no presenta diferencias significativas entre las dos líneas genéticamente variables y la línea pura 43, relación que cambia en la proporción sexual total, donde se observó que las líneas genéticamente variables producen un mayor número de machos en los días subsecuentes.

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The Mexican genera of Mymaridae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) are keyed in English and Spanish, and a catalogue of species occurring in Mexico is presented. Thirty-six genera, including 79 named species in 20 of the genera, are reported. These are mentioned in about 100 publications either as original species descriptions or as publications that specifically mention species and/or specimens from Mexico. In the catalogue, species distributions by state are given based on literature records, and collection data are compiled from about 3630 specimens examined in eight collections in Canada, Mexico and USA. Host are listed for specimens reared mainly in Mexico. A few extralimital host records are also given.

The Mexican species of Erythmelus Enock (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) are revised. A key to females of 13 species is provided in both English and Spanish. Two new taxa are described--E. maya Guzmán-Larralde & Triapitsyn, sp. n. and E. tigres Guzmán-Larralde & Triapitsyn, sp. n. Six species are newly recorded from Mexico--E. angustatus Ogloblin, E. cingulatus Ogloblin, E. clavatus Ogloblin, E. gracilis (Howard), E. nanus Dozier, and E. noeli (Dozier), besides new geographic records for E. miridiphagus Dozier, E. picinus (Girault), E. psallidis Gahan, and E. rex (Girault) which were previously known from the country.

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