Biology, ecology, and taxonomy of the parasitoids of the families of Austroniidae, Peradeniidae, Proctorenyxidae, Roproniidae, and Vanhorniidae (Hymenoptera: Proctotrupoidea)

Carlos Henrique Marchiori *, Marco Vinícios de Oliveira Santana and Klebert de Paula Malheiros

Department Medicine and Biological Science, Instituto Marco Santana, Goiânia, Goias, Brazil.
 
Review
Open Access Research Journal of Life Sciences, 2024, 07(02), 009–016.
Article DOI: 10.53022/oarjls.2024.7.2.0062
Publication history: 
Received on 11 August 2023; revised on 25 September 2023; accepted on 27 September 2023
 
Abstract: 
Proctotrupoidae are koinobiont endoparasitoids of holometabolous insect larvae. Although Proctrotrupidae can be common and readily collected by sweep netting or Malaise traps, the superfamily is poorly known biologically. Proctotrupoidae are parasitoids of Coleoptera and, to a lesser extent, Diptera larvae, with one extraordinary host record from a centipede, whereas Heloridae has been reared from Neuroptera larvae. Extralimital families attacking Coleoptera and Neuroptera (Austroniidae, Peradeniidae, Proctorenyxidae) are biologically unknown. This work studies the biology, ecology, and taxonomy of the parasitoids of the Families of Roproniidae, Vanhorniidae, Austroniidae, Proctorenyxidae and Peradeniidae (Hymenoptera: Proctotrupoidea). In terms of the type of research source, we worked with scientific articles published in national and international journals. This modality of production, in addition to being commonly the most valued in the set of bibliographic production, is the most easily accessed. Access to articles was through virtual libraries such as Scielo, the University of São Paulo, Latin American Literature, and the University of Brasilia. This library has a specific section for Hymenoptera, with eight journals and texts of articles available in full. The journals included in this section are the following: Zootaxa, Canadian Journal of Zoology, Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute, Florida Entomologist, Canadian Entomologist, Neotropical Entomology, Cladistics, Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology, Insect Systematics & Evolution, Journal of Hymenoptera Research. Considering only this section constitutes a limitation of the study since articles belonging to journals that integrate other sections of the aforementioned electronic library could also contribute to the discussion of the production of knowledge about the relationship between hosts and parasitoids. However, in principle, within these articles, there could not necessarily be a discussion focused on biology, ecology, and taxonomy.
 
Keywords: 
Hosts; Larva; Insecta; Parasitoids; Superfamily
 
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