Resumo

DELFIN GONZALEZ, Hugo  e  BURGOS RUIZ, David. Los braconidos (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) como grupo parametro de biodiversidad en las selvas deciduas del tropico: una discusion acerca de su posible uso. Acta Zool. Mex [online]. 2000, n.79, pp.43-56. ISSN 2448-8445.

The aim of this essay is to propose the use of a parasitoid wasp family (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) as a parameter group for describing the biodiversity in tropical deciduous forest in order to evaluate and monitor the effect of anthropogenic activities in this ecosystems. The importance of this group is related to their regulating role on host populations, being an important alternative for biological pest control by natural enemies instead of the application of pesticides. Eight criteria are considered to define them as a parameter group. In conclusion, the braconids, especially the koinobiont species can be used as parameter groups to determine the human impact on the natural communities and to estimate the species richness in a given region. In addition, this study provides information related to the diversity of this group through a latitudinal gradient.

Palavras-chave : Braconidae; parameter group; tropical deciduous forest.