Failure of released parasitoids to assume a host-seeking behavior often contributes to their premature dispersal and subsequent failure to adequately control target species. Results of laboratory and field studies conducted at Tifton, Ga., in 1979 showed that prerelease exposure of femaleTrichogramma pretiosumRiley to hostHeliothis zea(Boddie) eggs resulted in significantly more time (ca. sixfold) spent in host-seeking behavior in a laboratory release area and significantly higher subsequent rates of parasitization ofH. zeaeggs on peas and cotton.