1. Optimal progeny size models assume that the more eggs a female produces, the lower the amount of resource allocated per egg. As egg size generally correlates with the fitness of the emerging immature, this trade‐off can be expressed as a choice between the production of numerous low quality or fewer high quality progeny.2. The first‐instar larvae of the coleopteran parasitoid Aleochara bilineata have to search for and parasitise dipteran pupae. The present study found a positive correlation between egg size and larval weight, but not between egg size and development time. Larger first‐instar larvae survived longer, were more active, and found and parasitised their host more rapidly.3. Female A. bilineata may invest smaller larvae in conditions of high host density and low intraspecific competition, but investing fewer, larger larvae would bring them more fitness when hosts are scarce and competition high.

L’azadirachtine serait, selon la littérature, la principale composante à propriétés insecticides dans les extraits de neem, Azadirachta indica, bien que d’autres composés présents dans les extraits peuvent affecter le pouvoir insecticide. Un bioessai a été mis au point pour évaluer le pouvoir insecticide d’extraits de neem en comparaison avec celui d’un produit de référence. Le bioessai a été réalisé à l’aide de larves de drosophile (Drosophila melanogaster) placées sur une diète contenant différentes concentrations de BioNEEM® (Safer). Après 14 jours, les pourcentages d’émergence ont été déterminés afin d’obtenir une courbe d’émergence en fonction de la dose d’azadirachtine. Des analyses par CLHP (Chromatographie liquide haute performance) ont été effectuées sur le BioNEEM® et sur plusieurs extraits de neem pour permettre une comparaison entre les résultats obtenus par bioessai et la quantité d’azadirachtine contenue dans l’extrait. Aucune relation entre la quantité d’azadirachtine et le pouvoir insecticide des extraits de neem testés n’a été trouvée. Ces résultats soulignent l’importance d’évaluer l’effet total insecticide des extraits de neem et non pas uniquement leur concentration en azadirachtine.According to the literature, azadirachtin is the major component with insecticidal effect in neem extract, Azadirachta indica. However, other components in the extract can affect its insecticidal potency. A bioassay was developed to determine the insecticidal effect of neem extracts in comparison to a reference product. The bioassay was carried out using drosophila (Drosophila melanogaster) larvae placed on a diet containing various concentrations of BioNEEM® (Safer). After 14 days, the percentage of emergence was calculated to obtain an emergence curve as a function of azadirachtin concentration. HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) analyses were performed on BioNEEM® and other neem extracts to allow a comparison between the results obtained with the bioassay and the quantity of azadirachtin in the extract. No relation between the quantity of azadirachtin and insecticidal effect was found. These results emphasize the importance of evaluating the total insecticidal activity of neem extracts and not only their concentration in azadirachtin

Aleochara bilineata oviposits in soil microhabitats likely to contain the dipteran pupae that are hosts of its ectoparasitoid first instar larvae. The eggs of A. bilineata have a rigid chorion but they are nonetheless hydropic and, after 30 h of development, start to increase in volume and do so until 50 h. This increase in volume is due to absorption of water. The eggs increase their initial volume by a factor of 1.68 that corresponds to an increase of 44.44% of initial weight. To explain this augmentation in volume, we describe the modifications occurring in the egg chorion during hydropy. The increase in volume in such a rigid egg is made possible through the fragmentation of the chorion which, initially dense and regular, becomes fragmented. Such adaptation enables female A. bilineata to oviposit hydropic eggs in habitats where mechanical resistance is needed.