A study on Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) from Iran

Hassan GHAHARI, Jian HUANG, Shaaban ABD-RABOU, Zhu-Hong WANG

(1.Department of Plant Protection, Shahre Rey Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran;2.College of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China;3.Plant Protection Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture, Dokki-Giza, Egypt)

Received： 21 June 2012

Author: Hassan Ghahari, email:hghahari@yahoo.com.*Correspondingauthor:Jian Huang, email:jhuang1234@126.com.

伊朗跳小蜂科研究(膜翅目：小蜂总科)

Hassan GHAHARI1, 黄 建2*, Shaaban ABD-RABOU3, 王竹红2

(1.DepartmentofPlantProtection,ShahreReyBranch,IslamicAzadUniversity,Tehran,Iran; 2.福建农林大学植物保护学院, 福建 福州 350002; 3.PlantProtectionResearchInstitute,MinistryofAgriculture,Dokki-Giza,Egypt)

摘要: 跳小蜂(膜翅目，跳小蜂科)是生态系统中农作物害虫的重要寄生蜂。本文记录了采自伊朗不同地区的跳小蜂科14新记录种，分别隶属12属：AphycoidesMercet,BlastothrixMayr,BothriothoraxRatzeburg,EricydnusWalker,MayridiaMercet,MetaphycusMercet,MicroterysThomson,RhopusFoerster,SyrphophagusAshmead,TetracnemusWestwood,TrechnitesThomson,TrichomasthusThomson。

关键词: 膜翅目; 跳小蜂科; 新记录种; 伊朗

中图分类号: Q969.54文献标识码: A文章编号：1001-4276-(2013)01-0123-05

1 Introduction

The family Encyrtidae(Hymenoptera: Chlacidoidea)included approximately 4 000 nominal species in 483 genera(Noyes 2009). Most these beneficial insects are primary or secondary parasitoids, and attack the eggs, larvae or pupae of several arthropod groups such as Diptera, Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Neuroptera, Orthoptera and also Acarina(Ferrière 1953). Within these vide range of hosts, these parasitoids have efficient role in biological control of agricultural and forest pests(Trjapitzin,1989;Godfray,1994;Hayat,2006). Therefore, a number of encyrtids has been used successfully for control of mealybugs pests(Pseudococcidae)and many soft scale(Coccidae)(Noyes,1985;Huang and Noyes,1994).

The fauna of Iranian Encyrtidae is rather diverse, because in total 93 species are listed in the checklist Fallahzadeh and Japoshvili(2010), and also after publishing the mentioned checklist, totally 54 new records were published by Lotfalizadeh(2010), Golpayeganietal.(2010) , Ghaharietal. (2010), Abd-Rabouetal. (2011), Ghahari and Abd-Rabou (2012), and Rastegaretal. (2012). The aim of this paper is introducing 14 species of Encyrtidae as the new records for the fauna of Iran.

2 Material and Methods

The specimens were collected by Malaise trap, sweeping net and rearing method. In rearing method the leaves of plants infested with scale insects(Hemiptera: Coccoidea)were collected and reared. The samples were put in gelatine capsules separately and then taken in the incubator(25±2 ℃, 65±5% RH, 14:10 L:D), and therefore the parasitoids were emerged from the parasitized hosts gradually. The collected specimens were slide-mounted for further study using the method outlined by Noyes(1982). The wasps were then identified by the 3rdauthor based on the morphological characters such as wing venation, shape and color of antennal segments using available identification keys(Prinsloo,1984;Noyes and Hayat,1994). The information concerning locality, altitude(in brackets)and date of collection, and number of specimens(in brackets)is noted for each species.

3 Results

Totally fourteen encyrtid species from eight genera are listed in below as the new records for the fauna of Iran.

GenusAphycoidesMercet,1921

Aphycoidesclavellatus(Dalman,1820)

Materialexamined: Isfahan province: Fereydoon-Shahr(2 532 m), 4♀, June 2006, exEulecaniumsp.(Homoptera: Coccidae)onFraxinussp.

DistributioninIran: Isfahan.

GenusBlastothrixMayr,1876

BlastothrixlongipennisHoward,1881

Materialexamined: Semnan province: Shahrood(1 341 m), 2♀, April 2010, exEulecaniumtiliae(Linnaeus)(Homoptera: Coccidae)onPrunussp.

DistributioninIran: Semnan.

GenusBothriothoraxRatzeburg,1844

Bothriothoraxclavicornis(Dalman,1820)

Materialexamined: Lorestan province: Sefid-Dasht(1 122 m), 1♀, 2♂, April 2009, exSyrphusvitripennisMeigen(Diptera: Syrphidae)in wheat field.

DistributioninIran: Lorestan.

GenusEricydnusWalker,1837

EricydnusrobustiorMercet,1921

Materialexamined: Golestan province: Ghoosh-Cheshmeh(1 612 m), 2♂, September 2006, collected by sweep net.

DistributioninIran: Golestan.

GenusMayridiaMercet,1921

MayridiaformosulaMercet,1921

Materialexamined: Isfahan province: Isfahan(1 592 m), 2♀, July 2006, exTrionymusamaryllidis(Bouché)(Homoptera: Pseudococcidae)onLoliumsp.

DistributioninIran: Isfahan.

GenusMetaphycusMercet,1917

MetaphycusasterolecaniiMercet,1923

Materialexamined: Lorestan province: Azna(1 875 m), 1♀, July 2009, collected by Malaise trap.

DistributioninIran: Lorestan.

Metaphycusdispar(Mercet,1921)

Materialexamined: Golestan province: Dasht-e-Mirzabaylu(1 575 m), 1♀, August 2007, exCeroplastesrusci(Linnaeus)(Homoptera: Coccidae)onMorussp.

DistributioninIran: Golestan.

GenusMicroterysThomson,1876

Microterystricoloricornis(DeStefani,1886)

Materialexamined: Qazvin province: Abyek(1 452 m), 3♀, 1♂, June 2008, exCoccushesperidum(Linnaeus)(Homoptera: Coccidae)onVitisvinifera.

DistributioninIran: Qazvin.

GenusRhopusFoerster,1856

Rhopusacaetes(Walker,1844)

Materialexamined: Lorestan province: Dorood(1 683 m), 1♀, 1♂, October 2009, exPeliococcopsiscaucasicus(Borchsenius)onCynodondactylon.

DistributioninIran: Lorestan.

GenusSyrphophagusAshmead,1900

Syrphophagusmamitus(Walker,1837)

Materialexamined: Khorasan province: Bojnord(1 027 m), 2♀, June 2011, collected by sweep net.

DistributioninIran: Khorasan.

GenusTetracnemusWestwood,1837

Tetracnemusheydeni(Mayr,1876)

Materialexamined:Isfahan province:Semirom(2 457 m),1♂,August 2008,collected by Malaise trap.Lorestan province: Khorramabad(1 045 m),2♀,August 2009,collected by sweep net.

DistributioninIran: Isfahan.

GenusTrechnitesThomson,1876

Trechnitespsyllae(Ruschka,1923)

Materialexamined: Semnan province: Shahrood: Jangal-e Abr(1 341 m), 1♀, 1♂, exPsyllasp.(Homoptera: Psyllidae)onAlnussp.

DistributioninIran: Semnan.

GenusTrichomasthusThomson,1876

TrichomasthusalbimanusThomson,1876

Materialexamined: Golestan province: Kordkoy(96 m), 3♀, exCoccuspseudomagnoliarum(Kuwana)(Hemiptera: Coccidae)onCitrussp.

DistributioninIran: Golestan.

Trichomasthuscyaneus(Dalman,1820)

Materialexamined: Kerman province: Jiroft(739 m), 1♀, 2♂, exPulvinariavitis(Linnaeus)(Homoptera: Coccidae)onPoplarsp.

DistributioninIran: Kerman.

4 Discussion

In this faunistic survey 14 encyrtid wasps are listed as the new records for Iran. With considering the checklist of Iranian Encyrtidae(Fallahzadeh and Japoshvili,2010) and 54 new country records excluded in the checklist(Lotfalizadeh,2010；Golpayeganietal.，2010；Ghaharietal.，2010;Abd-Rabouetal.,2011;Ghahari and Abd-Rabou,2012;Rastegaretal.,2012), totally 161 encyrtid species have been recorded from Iran so far. Upon the several sampling trips in different regions of Iran and collecting numerous Chalcidoidea specimens by the first author, it is estimated about 250 encyrtid species as Iranian fauna. Since these parasitoids have efficient role in biological control of pests, determining their hosts is necessary as the first step for conserving and application them in biological control programs.

Acknowledgement

The authors are thanks to S.V. Triapitsyn (Entomology Research Museum, California, Riverside, USA), M. Hayat (Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim University, India), and G. Evans (Systematic Entomology Laboratory, Beltsville, USA) for sending the necessary papers. The research was supported by Shahre Rey Islamic Azad University, National Natural Science Foundation of China (31101495), Commonweal Industry Scientific Researching Fund (201103002) and Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture.

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