Brachymeria spp. (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae) parasitizing Pupae of hersperidae and nymphalidae (Lepidoptera) pests of oil palm in the Brazilian Amazonian Region

Abstract

The cultivation of the African oil palm is one the main agricultural activity in humid areas of the world, such as Amazonia, but defoliating caterpillars can reduce the productivity of this crop in northern Brazil. This is the first report in Brazil of occurrence of the parasitoids Brachymeria annulipes (Costa Lima 1919) from pupae of Opsiphanes invirae (Hübner 1808) (Nymphalidae), Brachymeria pandora (Crawford 1919) (Chalcididae) from those of Saliana sp. (Hesperiidae) and Brachymeria koehleri Blanchard, 1935 as an hyperparasitoid of pupae of the natural enemy Chetogena scutellaris (Tachinidae) from O. invirae on oil palm cultivated in Pará State, Brazil. This is the first report of species of the genus Brachymeria parasitizing pupae of O. invirae, and Saliana sp., and as an hyperparasitoid of C. scutellaris in palm plantations in the Brazilian Amazonian region.