CURCULIONOIDEA (INSECTA, COLEOPTERA) OF NEW-ZEALAND AGRICULTURAL GRASSLAND AND LUCERNE AS POTENTIAL NONTARGET HOSTS OF THE PARASITOIDS MICROCTONUS-AETHIOPOIDES LOAN AND MICROCTONUS-HYPERODAE LOAN (HYMENOPTERA,BRACONIDAE)

The parasitoids Microctonus aethiopoides Loan and Microctonus hyperoda e Loan (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) have been introduced into New Zealand to control the adult stage of the forage pests Sitona discoideus and Listronotus bonariensis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), respectively. The se parasitoids have been chosen to examine the environmental impact of introduced biological control agents on native and non-target species . A survey of the Curculionoidea fauna of pasture, lucerne, and modifi ed native grassland in parts of the southern South Island, Canterbury, and the northern North Island of New Zealand, where these parasitoids are present, was carried out in order to identify Curculionoidea with taxonomic and ecological affinities with the target hosts, and hence, potential non-target hosts. At a total of 155 sites, 85 species of Cu rculionoidea were identified, of which 64 (75%) were native species. T hree tribes in the subfamily Brachycerinae (broad-nosed weevils) accou nted for 61 species, and 7 tribes of the subfamily Curculioninae accou nted for 17 species. Fifty species, of which more than half were in th e genera Irenimus Pascoe and Nicaeana Pascoe, were in the tribe Entimi ni (Brachycerinae), a group which has been found to be particularly su sceptible to parasitism by M. aethiopoides. The distribution of taxa i n relation to sampling localities and broad vegetation categories is d iscussed.