Nine new species of Aleiodes Wesmael reared at Yanayacu Biological Station (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Rogadinae) in eastern Ecuador

Abstract

Nine new species of Aleiodes (Braconidae: Rogadinae) are described and illustrated: A. aclydis, A. albiterminus, A. arbitrium, A. atripileatus, A. capillosus, A. greeneyi, A. nebulosus, A. speciosus and A. stilpnos. Because of the difficulties in distinguishing Neotropical species that belong to the circumscriptus and gastritor species-groups, a larger species-group combining the two, termed the circumscriptus/gastritor species-group, is created. The new species described in this study belonged to the seriatus, albitibia, gressitti, and circumscriptus/gastritor species-groups, respectively. Aleiodes capillosus represents the first Neotropical species belonging to the gressitti species-group. Of the 34 previously described Neotropical species in Aleiodes, only 13 have known biologies. The Aleiodes species in this study were reared from the families Geometridae and Noctuidae, two of the most common host families of other Aleiodes species worldwide.