SPECIES OF THE GENUS ADIALYTUS (HYMENOPTERA, BRACONIDAE: APHIDINAE) IN THE FAUNA OF UKRAINE

Abstract

Genus Adialytus is represented in Europe by four species, only two of which are recorded in the fauna of Ukraine: Adialytus ambiguus (Haliday, 1834) and Adialytus salicaphis (Fitch, 1855). Data on the distribution of these species, their trophic specialization, and habitat associations are provided on the basis of material from the collection of I. I. Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (SIZK) and previous publications. A. ambiguus is a broad oligophagous, however, parasitizing mostly species of the genus Sipha on Poaceae. In Ukraine, A. ambiguus is found in the Forest-Steppe zone (Kyiv, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Poltava regions), in the Zone of broad-leaved forests of Ukraine (Ternopil region). Adialytus salicaphis is registered for now only in the Zone of mixed forests of Ukraine (Kyiv region). This species is a narrow oligophagous and develops on aphids of the genus Chaitophorus on Salix and Populus. Its potential areal might include also Forest-Steppe zone (more probably on the Left Bank of Dnieper River) and plains of big rivers in the Steppe zone of Ukraine. The potential role of these species as biocontrol agents is discussed: A. ambiguus could be recommended for consideration as a new candidate for biocontrol of Sipha spp. and probably Rhopalosiphum spp, on cereal crops in Ukraine, while A. salicaphis is not a species of practical importance in the country now. We consider quite probable finding in Ukraine another well-distributed European species A. thelaxis (Starý, 1961), which is a parasitoid of aphids of the genus Thelaxes on oaks.