Long-term seasonal dominance of the waspTrihapsis politaTownes (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.
BACKGROUND
The temporal dynamics of insect populations in tropical environments is highly complex and poorly known. Long-term seasonality studies are scarce, and particularly so for ichneumonid wasps (Hymenoptera Ichneumonidae). This study represents an effort to elucidate aspects of seasonality and forest succession in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.


CONCLUSIONS
We report on the seasonal and successional dominance of the ichneumonid waspTrihapsis polita(Cryptinae). A long-term survey of Cryptinae was carried out in a protected area of Brazilian Atlantic Forest, in primary, tall secondary and low secondary forest areas. Specimens were collected during rainy season (RS) and dry season (DS) between 2000 and 2008, with total sampling effort of 4,095 trap-days. A total of 8,385 specimens of Cryptinae were collected, of which 6,655 (79.4%) belonged toT. polita. The occurrence ofT. politaspecies was heavily concentrated in the RS, with abundance 148× higher than during the DS. Seasonal fluctuation was also detected for Cryptinae as a whole, but was two orders of magnitude lower. Sampling efficiency also varied widely among areas, with the peak of abundance at the tall secondary forest. The dominance ofT. politain secondary vegetation might be of general interest, as this type of forest is currently on the rise, due to unprecedented levels of human pressure.
Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, United States of America.
Bernardo F
BF
Santos
Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória, Brazil.
Alexandre P
AP
Aguiar
Secretaria de Estado de Meio Ambiente e Recursos Hídricos, Cariacica, Brazil.
Anazélia M
AM
Tedesco
Instituto Federal de Minas Gerais, Campus Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil.
Julio C R
JC
Fontenelle
Malaise trap; Trihapsis polita; outbreak; parasitoid; phenology; secondary forest