Collecting trips: Hymenoptera fauna of tropical dry forests and agrosystems in Atlantic coast, Colombia with Malaise traps, Berlese and pitfall, starting in June 1993 and in progress; we have separated some 300,000 Hymenopterans(!) from other orders. We hope to divide this order into families for sending to specialists in the near future. We have detected a great variety of proctrotrupoids in Malaise traps.
Museum trips: I am curating Hymenoptera in Natural History Museum, National University in Bogotá D.C. I have planned a trip to other museums in Bogotá, Medellín and Cali.
Projects in progress: 1. First checklist and keys of Hymenoptera of Colombia, I am writing a preliminary analysis. 2. Hymenoptera survey of tropical rain forests in Choco Region, Colombia. I need bibliography on small families of Neotropical Hymenoptera; also I need assistance in identification especially in Parasitica.
I also concluded a manuscript on "Hymenoptera Biodiversity of Colombia" with the first species lists of Hymenoptera of Colombia, with preliminary analysis on species, distribution, endemisms, etc. This work will be published in the near future in a book devoted to preliminary biodiversity in Colombia, by Universidad Nacional of Colombia.
Miscellaneous news: Our experience in survey of insects of tropical dry forests in Zambrano, Bolivar, Colombia teaches us about the efficiency of multiple use of Malaise and yellow traps and light traps in capturing small proctotrupoids. Some scelionids are readily collected in the interior of house's windows in several places!
Your suggestions about PROCTOS: We urgently need intense cooperation from North American Entomologists for enhanced local surveys of parasitica of Neotropical regions: our forests are vanishing irreversibly!
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