First register of Helorus brethesi Oglobin, 1928 (Insecta, Hymenoptera, Heloridae) in Palmeira, PR, Brazil

The occurrence of Helorus brethesi Oglobin, 1928 (Hymenoptera: Heloridae) is reported in the town of Palmeira, Parana, Brazil, based on a specimen collected in a conventional tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) fi eld with a Malaise trap.

Within the Proctotrupoidea (Insecta, Hymenoptera), the Heloridae family is a small group with a single recognized genus, Helorus Latreille, 1802.All species are very similar and possess a characteristic venation of the forewing ( VAN ACHTERBERG, 2006) with fi ve closed cells, including the subtriangular fi rst medial cell (MASNER, 1993).
The genus Helorus is composed of twelve known valid species ( VAN ACHTERBERG, 2006), all of them parasitoids of Chrysopidae (Insecta, Neuroptera).The genus is characterized by the antennae not inserted on a frontal shelf, with 15 segments; antennal socket located at the middle of face.Forewing 2.5-5.2mm in length, with a pterostigma; venation of wings characteristicforewing with medial cell defi ned, subtriangular, vein Rs+M present as tubular vein, and vein 1/Rs absent (KUSIGEMATI, 1987;MASNER, 1993).Townes (1977)  Outside the Holarctic Region the species of Helorus have a limited distribution, most being known only due to the type locality ( VAN ACHTERBERG, 2006).Therefore, the aim of this paper is to report the occurrence of Helorus brethesi in the State of Parana, Brazil.This discovery is related to a research developed in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) fi elds in the town of Palmeira, PR, Brazil.In this research, six tobacco fi elds were used, three under an organic management and three under a conventional management.Malaise and Pit-fall traps were set and remained in the fi elds from November 2007 to February 2008.The material was biweekly collected and the individuals belonging to Hymenoptera were identifi ed to family level, according to Goulet and Huber (1993).Afterwards, all insects collected were deposited in alcohol 70%.
From the samplings carried out in one of the conventional tobacco fi elds with Malaise trap, on 25 January 2008, one specimen belonging to the Heloridae family was reported.This individual was properly identifi ed as Helorus brethesi (Figure 1), becoming the fi rst register of this species in the State of Parana, Brazil and also associated with the tobacco culture.It is deposited at the Entomological Collection of Santa Cruz (CESC), from the University of Santa Cruz do Sul, under registration number 12843/1.The species Helorus brethesi ranges from southern Mexico to northern Argentina, where most of the records have been published, and it was also registered in Brazil in 1972, in the state of Goias (TOWNES, 1977).There are no further reports on the occurrence of this genus and species in Brazil since then.
According to Townes (1977), the species H. brethesi has as main characteristics the black body with a ferruginous mesoscutum; the frontwing 2.6-3.0mmlong; fi rst fl agellar segment about 5.7 as long as wide in male, about 6.0 as long as wide in female.Second fl agellar segment about 3.5 as long as wide in male, about 4.7 as long as wide in female.Face and mesoscutum polished, with very fi ne faint pictures.Concave part of side of thorax smooth or with a few irregular wrinkles.Mesopleurum with a single row of moderately small foveae behind prepectal carina.Scutellum smooth, polished, with sparse hairs that arise from almost invisible punctures.Stigma about 3.1 as long as deep.Nervulus basad of basal vein by about 0.3 its length (Figure 2).First tergite about 3.6 as long as wide, tapered to apex from widest point at basal 0.3, its baso-dorsal slope an almost vertical truncation and surrounded by a rim.Basal 0.3 ± and apical 0.2 ± of surface of fi rst tergite with longitudinal wrinkling and sparse shallow punctures, the rest of its surface is almost smooth.Mouth parts yellowish white, the apical part of mandible dark.Antenna fulvous or stramineous at base, gradually darkening to dark brown at apex.Hind margin and hind corner or pronotum, usually upper part of pronotum, much or all of mesoscutum, and axillary areas ferruginous, sometimes the thorax more extensively ferruginous with only the under side and most of propodeum blackish.Tegula whitish, wings  The individual of H. brethesi deposited at CESC fi ts into the description above mentioned.
Helorus from New Guinea, H.  niuginiae; and Kusigemati (1987)described H. suwai and H. yezoensis from Japan.Van Achterberg (2006) lists in his work, besides the ten species already mentioned, H. chinensis He, 1992 (from East Palearctic Region), and describes a new species, H. celebensis, from the Indo-Australian Region.