BRACONIDAE (HYMENOPTERA) IN THE CENTRAL SOUTHERN ALPS: THE FIRST ALPINE RECORD OF THE ALIEN PARASITOID LYSIPHLEBUS TESTACEIPES (CRESSON) AND NEW SPECIES FOR ITALY

Despite the ecological importance of parasitoid wasps for the stability of Alps ecosystems, the available knowledge about braconid wasps for these environments is still very limited. Here, we explored the diversity of Alpine braconid parasitoids in the Southern Central Alps. We recorded 18 species of braconids, 12 of which are from the subfamily Aphidiinae. In particular, we detected for the first time the alien parasitoid species Lysiphlebus testaceipes (Cresson) in the Alps, providing information that could be considered to evaluate the invasiveness of this species. The second most diverse subfamily was Microgastrinae with two detected species, while one species was recorded from each of the subfamilies Alysiinae, Braconinae, Cheloninae and Euphorinae. Four braconid species from the subfamily Aphidiinae – Aphidius hieraciorum Starý, Aphidius schimitscheki (Starý), Harkeria angustivalvus (Starý) and Monoctonus crepidis (Haliday) – are new records to the fauna of Italy. This work contributes to the knowledge of braconid diversity in the Alps. Moreover, it can be a starting point both to explore complex tritrophic interactions potentially threatened by climate change and the role of early flowering Alpine plants on braconid diversity. Key Words: Alps, Alpine ecosystems, biotic interactions, braconids, Italian fauna, parasitoids.