This study sampled the diversity of Braconidae (Hymenoptera) in three different ecosystems: a degraded pasture, a secondary forest and an area in recovery process using native tree seedlings. The objective was to verify the use of those insects as a tool to check the local conservation by examining Shannon's diversity index. Ten subfamilies were identified, and Microgastrinae was predominant in a number of individuals. The diversity index calculated varies among the sampled areas, thus showing a correlation with vegetation cover with the number of individuals collected and number of subfamilies found. The results showed changes in the community of Braconidae, in the recovery area between the first and second year of study, thereby leading to the conclusion that they are indicators of environmental quality.Keywords: Braconidae, degraded areas, diversity index, indicator species. Fauna de Braconidae (Hymenoptera) em áreas nativas, degradadas e em recuperação do Vale do Paraiba, Estado de São Paulo, Brasil ResumoEste estudo amostrou a diversidade de Braconidae (Hymenoptera) em três ecossistemas distintos: pastagem degradada, mata secundária e área em processo de recuperação com utilização de mudas de árvores nativas. O objetivo foi verificar a possibilidade de utilização desse grupo de insetos como ferramenta para identificar o estado de conservação local por meio da análise do índice de diversidade de Shannon. Foram identificadas dez subfamílias, com predominância em número de indivíduos de Microgastrinae. Os índices de diversidade calculados permitiram diferenciar as áreas amostradas, apresentando uma correlação da cobertura vegetal com o número de indivíduos coletados e o numero de subfamílias encontradas. O método evidenciou alteração na comunidade de Braconidae na área em recuperação, entre o primeiro e o segundo ano de estudo, demonstrando que são insetos indicadores de qualidade ambiental.Palavras-chave: Braconidae, áreas degradadas, bioindicadores, índice de diversidade.

Parasitoids may have important role in the biological control of social wasps. The objective of the current study was to identify and to measure colonies of the social wasp Polistes versicolor Olivier, 1791 (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) that were attacked by parasitoids in the campus of the Federal University of Viçosa in Viçosa, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The nest cell diameter, maximum and minimum width and height of the colony above the ground were recorded; in addition, the number of nest cells, pupae, larvae and eggs of parasitized colonies was determined in the laboratory from ten colonies of P. versicolor collected between April and May 2011. Parasitoid emergence was monitored on a daily basis. An individual of a non-described species of Pachysomoides (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Cryptinae) emerged from one P. versicolor colony collected from a plant of the sweet orange Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck (Rutaceae). This colony had a nest cells diameter of 0.50 mm, a maximum and minimum width of 5.50 mm and 3.40 mm, respectively, and it was 1.48 m above the ground. In total, 189 nest cells, 19 pupae, 27 larvae and 41 eggs were found in the colony. This is the first report of a parasitoid of the ichneumonid genus Pachysomoides from a colony of the wasp P. versicolor in Brazil.

RESUMO Este trabalho relata o primeiro registro de Spalangia drosophilae Ashmead, 1885 (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) em pupas de Oxysarcodexia thornax (Walker) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) e também o superparasitismo dessa espécie no Brasil, utilizando armadilhas contendo como isca fígado bovino em área de mata no Parque da Serra de Caldas Novas, Goiás, no período de agosto a dezembro de 2003. Foram coletados 23 espécimes do parasitóide S. drosophilae em 27 pupas de O. thornax. A porcentagem de parasitismo obtida foi de 11,1%.

One of the major problems in orchards is the presence of Tephritidae fly maggots, especially in Mirtaceae species. Various biological control tools include the use of Hymenoptera parasitoids, which naturally control fly populations. However, identification of the host species of parasitoids is challenging, because only the puparium remains after the parasitoid hatches. Therefore, the aim of this work was to determine the host species of Hymenoptera parasitoids, through the puparium. Host species were identified by amplification and sequencing of cytochrome C oxidase subunit I (COI) of mitochondrial DNA. The results of the present study show that COI DNA sequencing was able to reliably identify host pupae to the genus level, allowing the identification of the Anastrepha genus in this study. This suggests that this method can be used to identify agriculturally relevant host pupae, since this genus has already been described as a parasite of Campomanesia adamantium. Knowledge of the species that cause damage to crop, and their parasitoids is extremely important to study the biological and ecological aspects of these pests and their control. In this way, our results can contribute to the development of alternatives to the use of insecticides, reducing the use of chemical agents in crop production and minimizing the harmful effects on other insect species.

Meteorus Haliday, 1835 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is a cosmopolitan genus with around 340 species described, all koinobiont endoparasitoids of Coleoptera or Lepidoptera larvae, and several of its hosts are pest insects. Previously to this work only two species were described from Brazil, M. eaclidis Muesebeck and M. townsendi Muesebeck. Five new species of Meteorus are here described: M. atlanticus n. sp., M. ferruginosus n. sp., M. itatiaiensis n. sp., M. monoceros n. sp., and M. strigatus n. sp. Three species are recorded for the first time from Brazil: M. jerodi Aguirre & Shaw, M. laphygmae Viereck and M. megalops Zitani.