ABSTRACT The biology and behavior of insects are strongly inßuenced by environmental conditions such as temperature and precipitation. Because some of these factors present a within day variation, they may be causing variations on...
moreABSTRACT The biology and behavior of insects are strongly inßuenced by environmental conditions
such as temperature and precipitation. Because some of these factors present a within day
variation, they may be causing variations on insect diurnal ßight activity, but scant information exists
on the issue. The aim of this work was to describe the patterns on diurnal variation of the abundance
of Ichneumonoidea and their relation with relative humidity, temperature, light intensity, and wind
speed. The study site was a tropical dry forest at Rõ´a Lagartos Biosphere Reserve, Mexico; where
correlations between environmental factors (relative humidity, temperature, light, and wind speed)
and abundance of Ichneumonidae and Braconidae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonoidea) were estimated.
The best regression model for explaining abundance variation was selected using the second order
Akaike Information Criterion. The optimum values of temperature, humidity, and light for ßight
activity of both families were also estimated. Ichneumonid and braconid abundances were signiÞcantly
correlated to relative humidity, temperature, and light intensity; ichneumonid also showed signiÞcant
correlations to wind speed. The second order Akaike Information Criterion suggests that in tropical
dry conditions, relative humidity is more important that temperature for Ichneumonoidea diurnal
activity. Ichneumonid wasps selected toward intermediate values of relative humidity, temperature
and the lowest wind speeds; while Braconidae selected for low values of relative humidity. For light
intensity, braconids presented a positive selection for moderately high values.
