Altitudinal zonation of aphid parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae) in the Neotropical region

Abstract

The paper presents 19 identified species of aphid parasitoids belonging to eight genera in the high altitudes of Central and South America, along with seven unidentified species. Faunal analysis indicates that most of the lowland areas are inhabited by a set of pan-tropical, cosmopolitan, and Nearctic parasitoid aphid associations, whereas the higher altitudes of Central and northern South America are characterized by a mix of trans-zonal species and a rather specific fauna. The Nothofagus — aphid — parasitoid associations are endemic and distributed from the high Andes down to western Patagonia.