Seasonality of Pelecinus polyturator (Drury) (Hymenoptera, Pelecinidae) in the Atlantic Rainforest of Sao Paulo State, Brazil

Abstract

Seasonality of Pelecinus polyturator (Drury) (Hymenoptera, Pelecinidae) in the Atlantic Rainforest of Sao Paulo State, Brazil. A survey of the parasitoid wasp Pelecinus polyturator (Drury, 1773) (Hymenoptera, Pelecinidae) was carried out with five Malaise traps/area in five areas in the Atlantic Rainforest of Sao Paulo State, Brazil, between November 2009 and October 2010. The sampling effort in each locality amounted to 1,825 trap-days. Data were obtained from a total of 317 exemplars of P. polyturator, corresponding to 108 females and 209 males. The average sex ratio of the studied population was 0.52. The highest occurrence of P. polyturator was observed between November and March with frequency peak in January; about 95% of the specimens studied were captured at altitudes close to 1,000 m above sea level.