First record of Brachymeria amenocles (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae) associated with larvae of Peckia (Peckia) chrysostoma (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) in Brazil

Abstract

Abstract In this work, we report for the first time the occurrence of the parasitoid wasp Brachymeria amenocles (Walker, 1846) (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae) associated with the larvae of the flesh fly, Peckia (Peckia) chrysostoma (Wiedemann, 1830) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae), in Brazil. This parasitoid species was collected together with the species Brachymeria podagrica (Fabricius, 1787), in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, geographically located in the Southeast region of Brazil, in larvae of the same host species reared in the same attraction substrate, behaving as solitary parasitoids. A trap containing putrefying sardine was exposed for 48 h, in the upper part of a house, located in Vila Isabel, an urban area. The larvae collected were reared in the laboratory without control of environmental conditions. A total of three adult parasitoid wasps of the species B. podagrica, and nine adult parasitoid wasps of the species B. amenocles emerged from 12 host pupae, resulting in a prevalence of parasitoidism of 4.8% and 14.5%, respectively. Developing parasitoids at the pupal phase were observed in another 34 host pupae dissected.

Keywords

• flesh flies
• natural enemy
• Neotropical fauna
• parasitoid wasp
• urban entomology