First reports of Toxophora aurea Macquart (Diptera: Bombyliidae: Toxophorinae) in Argentina, and comments on the biology of two species of the genus

Abstract

The bee fly Toxophora aurea Macquart is reported for the first time in Argentina. One single specimen of this species was reared from a nest of Isodontia costipennis (Spinola) (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) in the province of Formosa and others were captured in southern Misiones province, and others housed in entomological collections from the provinces Chaco, Santiago del Estero and Santa Fe. Data about the biology of Toxophora leucon Séguy from individuals reared in nests of Cyphomenes anisitsii (Brèthes), Pachodyneurs guadulpensis (Saussure) and Zethus dicomboda (Spinola) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae) in the province of Formosa are also reported. These are the first data about the reproductive ecology of these parasitic flies in Argentina.