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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #297147
Title: Cardiochilinae and Ichneutinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) of Konza Prairie

Author
item Kula, Robert

Submitted to: Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/9/2013
Publication Date: 4/30/2016
Citation: Kula, R.R. 2016. Cardiochilinae and Ichneutinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) of Konza Prairie. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 118(2):273-288.

Interpretive Summary: Parasitic wasps attack insects that cause billions of dollars of damage to crops and forests annually. The wasps treated in this paper attack plant-feeding insects, including potato tuberworm moth. Increased knowledge of these wasps can help maximize their impact on pests. This paper provides information on identification, biology, and distribution of eight species in the Western Hemisphere. One species new to science is described; new distribution records are reported for three species. This paper will be useful to scientists conducting research on these wasps and their hosts, as well as pest management and regulatory personnel responsible for controlling and limiting the spread of plant-feeding insects.

Technical Abstract: The results of a survey of Cardiochilinae and Ichneutinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) at Konza Prairie near Manhattan, Kansas are reported. Eleven sites representing prairie and woodland/wetland areas, including gallery forest, were sampled in 2001 and 2005 using Malaise traps and a canopy trap. Selected sites were also sampled haphazardly using pan traps and a sweep net. Six species of Cardiochilinae and two species of Ichneutinae were collected. Cardiochilines were collected at woodland/wetland sites only except a single specimen collected at a prairie site. Both species of Ichneutinae were collected at woodland/wetland sites and prairie sites. Cardiochiles floridanus (Ashmead) (n=3) and Cardiochiles minutus (Cresson) (n=4) were the most abundant species of Cardiochilinae in 2001 and 2005, respectively. Paroligoneurus newharti Kula, new species, the most abundant species of Ichneutinae in 2001 and only ichneutine collected in 2005, is described. Cardiochiles insculptus Mao, Cardiochiles minutus (Cresson), and Toxoneuron viator (Say) are reported from Kansas for the first time.