SURVEY OF THE FAMILIES OF PARASITIC HYMENOPTERA ASSOCIATED WITH TOBACCO (NICOTIANA TABACUM L.) CROPS IN RIO GRANDE DO SUL STATE, BRAZIL

ABSTRACT The aim of this work was to survey the families of hymenoptera associated with tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) in Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. Material was collected weekly using Malaise, pitfall and yellow pan traps in tobacco crops in the counties of Santa Cruz do Sul and Lagoão. During the period of November 2007 to February 2008, 1,047 individuals belonging to the order Hymenoptera were collected. Of these, 738 were distributed in 23 families known as parasitoid. Ichneumonidae, Braconidae and Scelionidae were the most abundant families, representing 44.6%, 14.9% and 11.5% of the collected parasitoids, respectively.