Cycloneda ancoralis (Germar)

Cycloneda ancoralis is a very common species widely distributed across Argentina (Bosq 1952; Viana & Williner 1974). In a recent revision of Brazilian species of Cycloneda, its distribution includes Bolivia (Beni), Chile, Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul), Paraguay (Asunción), Argentina [(Buenos Aires (La Plata), Córdoba (Sauce de los Quevedos), La Pampa (Santa Rosa), Tucumán, Mendoza, Santa Fé (Rosario)], and Uruguay (Montevideo) (Araujo-Siqueira & de Almeida 2006). The species is an excellent biological control agent against aphids, especially Toxoptera graminum Rondani (Bosq 1952; Viana & Williner 1974). During the winter the adults seek refuge, forming large colonies and using them as shelters under the bark of trees of Eucalyptus and “chañar” [ Geoffroea decorticans (Gillies ex Hook. & Arn.) Burkart], in parrots nests [ Myiopsitta monachus cotorra (Vieillot, 1817)], or under stones in hilly areas (Viana & Williner 1978). The same hibernating behavior can be found in nests of A. annumbi (Table 2), but never under ritidomes of Eucalyptus (Table 3).