Marchiori, C.H./ Journal of Biology (2014), Vol. 02, Issue 01, pp.

14-17

ISSN 2052-0751

Research Paper

Diversity of Parasitoids Collected in an Area of Forest

and Pastures in Southern of Gois, Brazil
Carlos Henrique Marchiori
Instituto Fed. Goiano/ Uni. Federal de Gois: Rua 235, s/n, Setor Universitrio, CEP: 74605050, Goinia, Gois, Brazil
Tel.: (55) 62 3209 6109; FAX: (55) 62 3209 6363
E-Mail: chmarchiori@yahoo.com.br.

Abstract
The large number of parasitic Hymenoptera, combined with their ability to respond to the population densities of their
hosts, is essential for maintaining the ecological balance and is a force that contributes to the diversity of other organisms.
The objective of this study was to investigate the diversity of parasitoids collected in areas of native forest and grassland in
Itumbiara, southern Gois, Brazil. The samples of insects were obtained using yellow buckets of approximately 30 cm in
diameter and 12 cm in height, in which was placed a mixture of 2 liters of water, 2 ml of detergent and 2 ml of
formaldehyde. From this, 793 parasitoids were caught in 480 collections made in remnant native forest and pasture over a
12-month period, of which 45.9% were collected in the forest and 54.1% in pastures. The most frequent species of the
family Braconidae was Bentonia longirconis (van Achterberg), accounting for 27.5%; in the family Diapriidae, it was
Trichopria anastrephae Costa Lima with 99.1%; in the family Figitidae, it was Zaeucoila sp. with 50.0% and in the family
Pteromalidae, it was Spalangia cameroni Perkins with 90.0%. The most abundant species was T. anastrephae, accounting
for 41.8% of the individuals collected. The diversity index (D) for the species of parasitoids was higher in pasture (D =
0.22) than in the forest (D = 0.20).
Keywords: Insecta, Hymenoptera, Yellow Buckets, Diversity

1. Introduction
The order Hymenoptera, with over 250,000 species distributed around the world, includes more than 100,000 described as parasites (Borgmeier, 1935). The large number of
parasitic Hymenoptera, combined with their ability to respond to the population densities of their hosts, is essential
for maintaining the ecological balance and is a force that
contributes to the diversity of other organisms (Amaral et
al, 2005 and La Salle & Gauld, 1992).
About 75% of the species of parasitic Hymenoptera have
not yet been described. However, taxonomic knowledge
alone is not sufficient to protect the species: correlations
with ecological and evolutionary information are needed in
order to ensure their survival. Parasitic Hymenoptera are
the most important biological control agents, responsible
for most of the economic and environmental benefits prod-

uced by biological control programs, which can provide

grants for studies on biology and conservation (Brown,
1982 and Palma-Santos & Perez-Maluf, 2010).
As biological control agents, they react to the population
size of their hosts. Their action promoting mortality increases as the populations of their hosts increase and decreases
when these populations decrease. The two populations
fluctuate in an interconnected manner so as to prevent both
an increased mass and the extinction of the host population
(Marchiori & Dias, 2002 and Perioto & Lara, 2003).
Three hundred and ninety-three species of parasitoids are
being used in biological control programs, of which 344
(87.0%) are Hymenoptera. Thanks to these programs, great
savings in pest control have been achieved (Greathead,

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Marchiori, C.H./ Journal of Biology (2014), Vol. 02, Issue 01, pp. 14-17

ISSN 2052-0751

1986).
The aim of this study was to ascertain the diversity of parasitoids collected in an area of forest and pastures in southern Gois, Brazil.

In total, 793 parasitoids (Figure 2) were caught in 480

collections made in the remnant native forest and pasture
areas over a 12-month period, and 45.9% were collected in
the forest and 54.1% in pastures (Table 1).

2. Materials and Methods

Sampling was carried out every week, with 10 traps formed by yellow bowls that were placed at ground level and
allocated at random, in order to sample areas of native
vegetation adjacent to pasture. Five bowls were placed in
the pastures and five in the forest. These cylindrical yellow
plastic bowls were approximately 30 cm in diameter and
12 cm in height, and a mixture of 2 litres of water, 2 ml of
detergent and 2 ml of formaldehyde was placed in each of
them (Figure 1).

Figure 2. General Appearance of the Parasitoid Trichopria

Although a higher number of parasitoids were collected in

the pastures, areas of forests are important local source of
parasitoids that are natural enemies of insects, many of economic importance (Scatolini & Dias, 1997).

Figure 1. General Appearance of Yellow Pan Traps

Insects of the family Figitidae were identified by Dra.

Norma Beatriz Diaz and Dra. Fabiana Gallardo, of the Scientific Department of Entomology of the Museum of La
Plata (Argentina). Insects of the family Braconidae were
identified by Dra. Anglica Maria Penteado-Dias, of the
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Federal
University of So Carlos. The species Gryon gallardoi was
identified using the study by Loiacano (1980). Specimens
of Trichopria anastrephae Costa Lima (Hymenoptera:
Diapriidae) were identified using the study by Costa Lima
(1940).
The preference for pasture or forest was tested by means of
the chi-square test at the level of 5.0% probability. To
study the diversity in the samples, we used the index
described by Southwood (1978), for both areas, in accordance with the formula: D = Nmax/N, where N is the total
number of individuals and Nmax is the number of individuals of the most abundant species.

3. Results and Discussion

The most frequent species of the family Braconidae was

Bentonia longirconis (van Achterberg), accounting for
27.5%; for the family Diapriidae, it was T. anastrephae
with 99.1%; for the family Figitidae family, it was
Zaeucoila sp. with 50.0%; and for the family Pteromalidae,
it was Spalangia cameroni Perkins with 90.0%. The most
abundant species was T. anastrephae, accounting for 41.8
% of the individuals collected (Table 1).
According to some authors, B. longirconis behaves as an
endoparasitoid larva of Pyralidae and Tortricidae (Lepidoptera) (Achterberg, 1992 and Braet & Tignom, 1992).
The first description of T. anastrephae as a parasitoid of
Anastrepha was obtained from pupae of Anastrepha serpentina (Wiedemann) and Anastrepha sp. (Diptera: Tephritidae) found in mango and caja, obtained in the Federal
District of Brazil (Costa Lima, 1940). It is a very common
generalist species in Brazil, usually occurring at the rate of
one parasitoid per host puparium. Zaeucoila sp. probably
behaves as a parasitoid of Agromyzidae (Diptera)
(Borgmeier, 1935).
Gryon gallardoi (Brthes) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) is
an egg parasitoid of the hemipteran family Coreidae. This
species is found in Argentina (Buenos Aires) and Brazil
(Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul) (Loiacano, 1980).
Spalangia cameroni is primarily a parasitoid of synanthropic flies in various parts of the world and the possibility of

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Marchiori, C.H./ Journal of Biology (2014), Vol. 02, Issue 01, pp. 14-17

using it in biological control has been proposed (Boucek,

1960).
Table 1. Parasitoids Collected in Yellow Pan Traps in Forest and
Pastures, in The Course of Agronomy Farm in Southern
of Gois, January to December 1998

Taxonomic Group

Forest

Pasture

Total

Braconidae:
Apanteles sp.
Aphaereta sp.
Asobara sp.
Bentonia longicornis
Chelonus sp.
Cotesia sp.
Dinotrema sp.
Diolcogaster sp.
Glyptapanteles sp.
Microcrasis sp.
Phaenocarpa sp.
Promicrogaster sp.
Pseudapanteles sp.

18
17
25
01
09
07
00
02
19
00
13
01
02

01
07
03
64
25
03
02
04
07
01
01
00
03

19
24
28
65
34
10
02
06
26
01
14
01
05

Diapriidae:
Trichopria anastrepha

159

173

332

Trichopria sp.
Figitidae:
Aganaspis pelleranoi
Agrostocynips sp.
Dettmeria sp.
Dieucoila sp.

00

03

03

00
00
00
01

02
01
03
01

02
01
03
02

Neralsia splendens
Odonteucoila sp.
Paraganaspis egeria
Triplasta atrocoxalis
Zaeucoila sp.

00
09
04
01
20

01
01
05
06
15

01
10
09
07
35

08
01
01
01

32
01
00
01

40
01
01
02

46

63

109

364

429

793

Pteromalidae:
Spalangia cameroni
Spalangia drosophilae
Spalangia endius
Spalangia nigra
Scelionidae:
Gryon gallardoi
Total

In relation to the parasites preference between the two

ISSN 2052-0751

environments, it was found that Apanteles sp., Aphaereta

sp., Asobara sp., Cotesia sp., Glyptapanteles sp., Phaenocarpa sp., T. anastrephae, Odonteucoila sp. and Zaeucoila
sp. preferred the forest, while B. longerconis, Chelonus sp.
Dinotrema sp., Diolcogaster sp., Pseudapanteles sp.,
Aganaspis pelleranoi (Brthes) (Hymenoptera: Figitidae),
Dettmeria sp., Paraganaspis egeria Diaz, Gallardo and
Walsh, Triplasta atrocoxalis Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Figitidae), S. cameroni and G. gallardoi preferred pastures
(chi-square test; X2 = 185.18, degrees of freedom = 29.0, P
< 0.0001).
The regulatory effect that occurs is due to the diversity of
physiological and behavioural adaptations of the parasitoids and results from a change in the associative phytophagous-parasitoid process. Parasitoids are favoured because of
their autonomy, their ability to disperse and locate their
host, and their ability to have stable and specific interactions with the host, thus making them an interesting biological model (Palma-Santos & Perez-Maluf, 2010).
The diversity index (D) for the species of parasitoids was
higher in pasture (D = 0.22) than in the forest (D = 0.20).
The proximity of the pastures to a natural vegetation fragment was characterized by a great diversity of host plants,
and an ability to accommodate a wider range of natural
enemies.
The estimated Shannon diversity in an area of forest was
slightly higher than in a coffee plantation (2.08 and 1.96,
respectively), in a study by Palma-Santos & Perez-Maluf
(2010) on the diversity of parasitic Hymenoptera in areas
of forest and vine coffee plantations in Vitria da Conquista, Bahia. In the present scenario of agriculture, the destruction and fragmentation of natural habitats caused by the
expansion of cultivated areas constitutes the main causes
of biodiversity change (Palma-Santos & Perez-Maluf,
2010).
Surveys of arthropod fauna in currently preserved areas are
of great importance and may provide parameters for comparison between areas modified by human actions (Scatolini
& Penteado-Dias, 2003).
Studies on the diversity of parasitic Hymenoptera (biomarkers) constitute a tool for studying the important degree of
degradation and the impacts borne by natural ecosystems
(Scatolini & Dias, 1997).

4. Conclusion
According to the results obtained in this work, the parasiteids caught by yellow traps in pasture areas showed greater
diversity index, although it is considered that the forest
area is more important in maintaining the biodiversity of
these insects.

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Marchiori, C.H./ Journal of Biology (2014), Vol. 02, Issue 01, pp. 14-17

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Acknowledgment

(2), pp. 897-899.

I thank, Dra. Norma Beatriz Diaz and Dra. Fabiana Gallardo, Department of Entomology Scientific Committee of
the Museum of La Plata (Argentina) for the identification
of Figitidae. I thank, Dra. Anglica Maria Penteado-Dias,
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the
Federal University of So Carlos for the identification of
Braconidae (Brazil).

Palma-Santos, M.C.L., and Perez-Maluf, R. (2010) Comunidade de parasitides associada cultura do caf em Piat, Chapada Diamantina, BA. Rev. Ceres., 57(2), pp. 194197.

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