Two new aphid parasitoids (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Aphidiinae) from field crops of South America

Abstract

During two seasons of field sampling in crop fields in Argentina, a total of 2,276 Aphidiinae specimens were collected using Malaise traps positioned in maize, soybean, and wheat fields. Eight known species of aphid parasitoids were identified (Aphidius platensis Brethes, 1913, A. ervi Haliday, 1834, A. rhopalosiphi de Stefani-Perez, 1902, A. uzbekistanicus Luzhetzki, 1960, A. matricariae Haliday, 1834, Diaeretiella rapae (McIntosh, 1855), Lysiphlebus testaceipes (Cresson, 1880), and Praon gallicum Starý, 1971). Additionally, two new species of aphid parasitoids were discovered, bringing the total to ten species reported from these crops in the country. Here, we describe and provide diagnoses for Aphidius brethes sp. nov. and Trioxys pampas sp. nov., which is the first record of winged species of the genus Trioxys in South America.