Abstract: To study the effects of mating status on development and oviposition in female mealybugs， Phenacoccus solenopsis.We compared the longevity， ovarian development and number of eggs laid in Phenacoccus solenopsis under different mating status. The results showed that in Phenacoccus solenopsis， mating stimulated ovarian development and oviposition. Mated Phenacoccus solenopsis females had higher total number of eggs laid， duration of gestation， duration of reproduction and number of eggs laid in the first clutch compared to delay\|mated females. When grown into oviposition period， unmated females could not develop into the embryonic phase and laid few eggs. Delay\|mated females could make a trade\|off between maintenance and reproduction by a nutritional rearrangement， which indicated that females would resorb the resources from eggs for a longer survival when they couldnt get mated. Once mated， females would lay eggs， and their physiological state got reset， but the number of eggs laid was lower than mated females.

Key words: Phenacoccus solenopsis, amphigenesis, mating, oviposition