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Baryscapus evonymellae (Bouché, 1834) (Hymenoptera, Eulophidae) was rediscovered on Leucoma wiltshirei Collenette, 1938 (Lepidoptera, Erebidae) attacked by different parasitoids. This species had already been reported under different names; therefore, its inaccurate identifications were corrected. It was reared as a larval and pupal hyperparasitoid of two important primary parasitoids of L. wiltshirei including Brachymeria tibialis Steffan, 1958 (Hymenoptera, Chalcididae), and Dolichogenidea persica Abdoli, Mohammadi, Sedaratian-Jahromi & Farahani, 2023 (Hymenoptera, Braconidae). The last parasitoid-hyperparasitoid association is new. Its morphological characters were illustrated and its biological data and main characteristics were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During samplings were performed during 2019 in Birjand area located in South Khorasan province, three species are identified from families Entomobryidae and Bourletiellidae. Drepanura tuxeni Nosek, 1964, Drepanosira gisini Nosek, 1964 and Cassagnaudiella c.f. gamae (Bretfeld, 1994) are newly reported for the Iranian fauna of Collembola. The material examined, brief description and some illustration were given. Cassagnaudiella c.f. gamae represents the second species record of the family Bourletiellidae from Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biodiversity of the Noctuidae, an economically important family of Noctuoidea which include major crop pests, is becoming well-identified nowadays in Iran due to the increased number of faunal expeditions. The two large subfamilies of Noctuidae namely Xyleninae Guenée, 1837 and Noctuinae Latreille, 1809 comprise the majority of Iran's noctuid moth fauna. Two species, Leucochlaena hoerhammeri (Wagner, 1931) and Dichagyris (Stenosomides) mansoura (Chrétien, 1911) members of Xyleninae and Noctuinae subfamilies, respectively, are recorded from Iran for the first time. This is also the first record of the subgenus Stenosomides Strand, 1942 from Iran. Both the external and genital characteristics of the newly recorded species are presented together with illustrations of the adults and their genitalia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The family Chrysolampidae Dalla Torre, 1898 and the genus Chrysomalla Foerster, 1859 (Chalcidoidea, Chrysolampidae, Chrysolampinae) are recorded for the first time from Iran where it was represented by one species, Ch. roseri Foerster, 1859. Studied specimens were collected with sweeping net in three localities: Kerman, South-Khorasan and West-Azarbaijan provinces in the east and northwest of Iran, respectively. A brief diagnosis, with illustrations of the morphological characters and geographical distribution is provided for this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gall midges, Janetiella convolvuli Mirumyan & Skuhravá, 2017 and Orseolia cynodontis Kieffer & Massalongo, 1902 are discovered in Iran for the first time based on adult specimens reared from galls on Convolvulus arvensis L. (Convolvulaceae) and Cynodon dactylon (L.) Persoon (Poaceae), respectively. The galls of J. convolvuli and O. cynodontis were previously recorded only in Armenia and European/African sections of the western part of the Palaearctic region, respectively. Some relevant diagnostic characters, photographs, ecological and biological notes, and distributional data for the newly recorded species are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seed-eater eurytomids of the genus Bruchophagus Ashmead, 1988 were collected from Ardabil and Qazvin provinces in northwest Iran. Various host plants were collected and their seeds were kept in laboratory conditions from 2007 to 2012. Scope of this paper focused on the Bruchophagus species reared from seeds of Astragalus brachydontus Boiss (Fabaceae). We obtained six species of Bruchophagus including B. astragali Fedoseeva. They were B. saxatilis Zerova; B. mutabilis Nikolaskaya; B. nikolskayae (Zerova); B. turkestanicus Zerova, and B. robiniae Zerova. Of which, Bruchophagus saxatilis Zerova, is a new record for the Iranian fauna. New host associations were found for all collected species and it seems a complex biological association that was recorded for the first time. Currently, 11 species of Bruchophagus are occurred inassociated with seeds of A. brachydontus. All previously known species of the genus Bruchophagus in Iran are also tabulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tribe Orthosiini Guenée, 1837, one of the six tribes of Hadeninae subfamily is represented by 17 genera worldwide. Of those, three genera including Orthosia Ochsenheimer, 1816, Perigrapha Lederer, 1857 and Egira Duponchel, 1845 have recorded in Iran. Here, we present a Catalogue of Orthosiini of Iran including 15 species of this tribe with their provincial distribution in Iran. Identification keys for the Iranian species are provided as well. Perigrapha cilissa Püngeler, 1917 is recorded for the first time from Iran. The external and genital characteristics of the newly recorded species are given, beside the illustrations of the adults and their genitalia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To expand study of Iranian Collembola fauna, the present study was conducted to investigate springtails fauna of different ecosystems such as forests, grasslands and gardens in the vicinity of Behshahr in the east of Mazandaran province, during 2020−2021. Several samples of soil and leaf litter were collected and specimens were extracted by Berlese funnel. Collected materials were identified by relevant taxonomic keys. The results indicated 29 species from 21 genera belonging to 10 families. Two species including Sminthurides inaequalis Börner, 1903 (Sminthurididae) and Hypogastrura neglecta Börner, 1901 (Hypogastruridae) were recorded for the first time from Iran. Despite numerous studies to identify Collembola fauna in Iran, many species are still unknown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two species of the genus Foenatopus Smith, 1846 (Hym.: Stephanidae), were collected from West-Azarbaijan province, the northwest Iran; Foenatopus prousti Aguiar & Turrisi, 2010 and F. turcomanorum (Semenov, 1891). These species belong to the bimaculate group of this genus. Foenatopus turcomanorum is a new record for Iran. Their morphological characters and distribution are provided. The Iranian species of the bimaculate group of Foenatopus are summarized and tabulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although mayflies are the key elements to assess the health value of freshwaters, their biodiversity in the Middle East, in particular in Iran, is poorly studied. Baetis braaschi belongs to the subgenus Rhodobaetis Jacob, 2003, with a wide distribution in Europe and Western Asia. The taxonomy of B. braaschi has always been source of disagreement as many species have so far been described by researchers and were synonymized later. The species, Baetis braaschi, is investigated here, using molecular and morphological data using collected specimens from different area in Iran and compared with its conspecific from Eastern Europe. Although Iranian specimens showed 99% molecular similarity with their conspecifics in Eastern Europe, e.g., Ukraine and Georgia, the morphological results showed that Iranian specimens of Baetis braaschi has significant morphological differences with conspecific specimens from Eastern Europe. Patterns of head, femora and size of the first and second teeth of mandibles in B. braaschi are varied from Europe to Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The American species, Tylothrips osborni (Hinds) is reported for the first time from Iran and presented with detailed photos. The single macropterous female, which has been collected in the Ilam province, shows an unusual variation regarding the number of sense cones on antennal segment III. This variation affects both antennae in form of a reduction of the number of sense cones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents new information on black fungus gnats (Sciaridae) based on field studies at seven localities in Iran. Five sciarid species from the genera Bradysia Winnertz, Corynoptera Winnertz and Lycoriella Frey were collected with Malaise traps, yellow sticky traps, sweep net and an aspirator between 2015 and 2021: Bradysia cellarum Frey, 1948; B. ocellaris (Comstock, 1882); B. tilicola (Loew, 1850); Corynoptera fatigans (Johannsen, 1912); Lycoriella sativae (Johannsen, 1912). All species are first records for the Sistan and Baluchestan province. Bradysia tilicola (Loew) is new to Iran and was recorded for the first time in the Middle East. This brings the number of known sciarid species from Iran to seven. For five species are given a short morphological diagnosis and the global distribution. A map illustrates the distribution of all identified sciarid species in Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An annotated and updated checklist of Iranian bee taxa in the Halictus genus-group is presented and synopsized in this paper. Totally 59 species within two genera (Halictus Latreille and Seladonia Robertson) are listed which among them, Seladonia (Pachyceble) petrae (Blüthgen, 1933), Seladonia (Seladonia) mugodjarica (Blüthgen, 1933) and the rare Seladonia (Seladonia) semitecta (Morawitz, 1873), are introduced as new records for the country. Diagnostic morphological features and worldwide distribution information are provided for all new records. Our findings contribute to improve the knowledge about the species diversity and distribution of the halictid bees in Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pistachio green stink bug, Brachynema germari Kolenati (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is one of the most important pests of pistachio nuts in many pistachiogrowing regions in Iran. This insect harbors a gammaproteobacterial symbiont, related to the genus Pantoea, in the numerous crypts of its posterior midgut, which is vertically transmitted by infection of the egg masses and orally acquired by newborn nymphs. In the present study, the effects of the symbiont on host morphology, emergence rates, and mating frequency of B. germari were explored. For this purpose, two symbiont elimination strategies, high temperature and egg surface sterilization, were used and their effects were compared. We found external morphological changes (e.g. abnormalities in notum and wings) as well as significantly fewer emergence rates (in all stages, except for the first instar) in the surface-sterilized and heat-treated insects compared with the controls. Also, the second, third, and fourth regions of the midgut exhibited remarkable morphological changes in the aposymbiotic insects compared with the controls. Besides, less mating frequency was observed in the aposymbiotic population compared with the control. Together, these results provided a close relationship between the bacterial symbiont and B. germari and suggested the importance of the symbiont for the morphogenesis, development, and reproduction of the insect host. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey on entomopathogens was carried out in Arasbaran Biosphere Reserve soils during June 2018 using Galleria mellonella L. (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae) larvae as bait insect with a modified bait insect technique. Three entomopathogen's categories were recorded in 34 out of 36 soil samples (94.4%) collected from different natural habitat; the entomopathogens were identified as nematodes (23.5%), fungi (61%) and bacteria (15.5%) using molecular and morphological techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on specimens collected, using sweeping nets and Malaise traps, from the East Azarbaijan, Guilan, Alborz and Mazandaran Provinces of Iran between May 2010 and September 2015, six species of the genus Dioctria Meigen, 1803 were collected. They were subsequently identified, and four species: Dioctria arnoldii V. Richter, 1964, D. humeralis Zeller, 1840, D. pilithorax V. Richter, 1980, and D. speculifrons Wiedemann, 1820, had not been previously recorded from Iran. Diagnostic characters and geographical distribution of the newly recorded species are provided. An illustrated key to all known Iranian Dioctria species is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new felt scale species, Rhizococcus avicennae sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccomorpha: Acanthococcidae), is described and illustrated based on adult females collected in Hamadan province, Iran. The new species resembles Rhizococcus desertus (Matesova, 1957) originally described from Kazakhstan and differs from the latter in having cruciform pores on the venter of the head, thorax, and abdominal segments I and II; in lacking frontal lobes and the frontal tubercle on the head; in the presence of fl agellate setae on the ventral submargin and macroducts in three sizes on the venter and dorsum. The females of R. avicennae sp. nov. were found at the bases of leaves of an unidentified species of grass (Poaceae). An identification key to the species of Rhizococcus Signoret, 1875 currently known from Iran is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black flies are blood-feeding insects that are distributed worldwide. Few studies, however, have reported the distribution and extent of medical and veterinary problems caused by these flies in Iran. This study aimed to identify the species of simuliids, based primarily on morphological characters, determine their spatial distributions, and identify their breeding sites in six provinces (Tehran, Mazandaran, Isfahan, Lorestan, Hormozgan and Khorasan-e-Shomali) of Iran from spring, 2010 to summer, 2012. A total of 914 larvae and 13 pupae were collected from sixteen areas in the above-mentioned provinces. Twelve taxa were found: Simulium alajense Rubtsov 1940, S. au reum Fries 1824 group, S. bezzii (Corti 1914), S. brevitarse (Rubtsov 1976), S. crassicaulum (Rub sov 1955), S. dahestanicum (Rubtsov 1962), S. ornatum Meigen 1804 group, S. paraequinum Puri 1933 /pseudequinum Seguy 1921, S. paucicuspis Rubtsov 1947, S. transcaspicum Enderlein 1921, S. turgaicum Rubtsov 1940, and S. variegatum (Meigen 1818). Khorasan-e-Shomali province had the highest prevalence of Simulium species. A new record for Iran ( Simulium dahestanicum) was discovered during the sampling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, five species of three genera of Hersiliidae are known from Iran.Bastaniusgen. nov., with the type speciesB. kermanensissp. nov. (♂♀), andHersilia talebiisp. nov. (♀) are described from south and south-eastern Iran. In addition,Hersiliola macullulata(Dufour, 1831) is recorded for the first time from Iran, andHersiliola foordiMarusik & Fet, 2009 is transferred toBastaniusgen. nov. Detailed morphological descriptions and a distribution map of all hersiliid species occurring in Iran are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An updated checklist of the Coccinellidae species of the former subfamily Sticholotidinae recorded from Iran is provided. Eleven species are reported: two species classified presently in the subfamily Microweiseinae (in the genera Paracoelopterus Normand, 1936 and Serangium Blackburn, 1889), and nine species classified in the tribe Sticholotidini of the subfamily Coccinellinae (in the genera Coelopterus Mulsant & Rey, 1852 and Pharoscymnus Bedel, 1906). Pharoscymnus smirnovi Dobzhansky, 1927 is removed from the list of the Coccinellidae of Iran. Distribution of species in Iranian provinces is presented. Data concerning their host plants along with their prey species are also included when known. Morphological features of two rarely collected and poorly known species of Iranian fauna, Pharoscymnus brunneosignatus Mader, 1949 and P. pharoides (Marseul, 1868) are diagnosed and illustrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new species of Aspilota without mesoscutal pit, A. isfahanensis Peris-Felipo, sp. n., is described and illustrated from Iran. The new species is compared with its three morphologically most similar species, A. compressiventris Stelfox & Grahan, 1951, A. makita Papp, 2008 and A. spiracula Munk & Peris-Felipo, 2013, is provided. A key to the western Asian species of Aspilota is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Female sand flies of subgenus Adlerius are considered as probable vectors of visceral leishmaniasis in Iran. The objective of this study was to determine the morphological and genotypic variations in the populations of this subgenus in the country. Methods: Sand flies collected using sticky traps from 17 provinces during 2008-2010. The morphometric measurements were conducted with an Ocular Micrometer. Data was analyzed by SPSS. The Cytb gene was used to estimate population genetic diversity and identify the female specimens. UPGMA phenetic tree was used for DNA haplotypes of Cytb gene. Results: Six species of subgenus Adlerius identified from which one species, P. (Adlerius) kabulensis, is new record. The identification key is provided for males. Results revealed the molecular systematic in the species of subgenus Adlerius and determine the relationship of three females of P. comatus, P. balcanicus and P. halepensis. Conclusion: The positions of three females and the males in the UPGMA tree are correct and the similarities among them confirm our results. The branches of each species are not genetically distinct which justify the overlapping morphological characters among them. Molecular sequencing of Cytb-mtDNA haplotypes can be used for female identification for different species of subgenus Adlerius in Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adult females of Barbutia iranensis Bagheri, Navaei & Ueckermann and deutonymphs of Barbutia anguineus (Berlese) are redescribed. A key to adult females of all known species of Barbutia is updated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A New Species of Chyliza (Diptera, Psilidae) from Iran. Khaghaninia, S., Gharajedaghi, Ya. - Chyliza (Dasyna) qaradaghi from Iran (type locality: Qaradagh Forests (Qala Deresi), East Azerbaijan Province) is described. C. qaradaghi Khaghaninia et Gharajedaghi, sp. n. is similar to Chyliza (Dasyna) extenuata (Rossi, 1790) in having arista thickened in basal third with dense black hairs and lacking anteroventral comb of black spinules on male fore tibia. New species differs from C. extenuata by head yellow, only occiput partly black and hind tibia largely black; C. extenuata has head completely black and hind tibia yellow. Both species differ also by the shape of male genitalia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the discovery of several moth species of the family Alucitidae from Iran. It describes the genus Pterotopteryx and several species including Pterotopteryx colchica Zagulajev, Alucitidae grammodactyla Zeller, and A. ordubadi Zagulajev. It provides details of the geographical distribution of the said species are provided. Details of distribution of the Alucita species and the unknown female of A. ordubadi is also offered.

Two noctuid moths Agrochola turcomanica Ronkay et al., 1998 and Polymixis achrysa Ronkay et al., 1998 are first reported for the fauna of Iran from Khorasan Shomali province. Morphology, bionomy and geographic distribution of the newly recorded species are presented. The diagnostic characteristics for each species are discussed with its closest relative. An annotated checklist of the genera Agrochola Hübner, [1821] and Polymixis Hübner, [1820] is presented. Adult and genitalia of two newly reported species are illustrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A new genus, Lehmannodes gen. nov., is described for Aplocera guneyiRiemis, 1992, and the morphological characters of the single included species are compared with those of the (type-) species of probably related Chesiadini genera like Amygdaloptera, Chesias, Chesistege, Lithostege, Odezia, Schistostege, Carsia and true Aplocera. Adults of the discussed species and their male and female genitalia are figured. In addition, the available COI DNA barcoding data of selected species of the tribe Chesiadini and other genera of Palaearctic Larentiinae are studied and compared. Both, morphological and molecular aspects indicate that guneyi in fact deserves a genus of its own which is most closely related to Amygdaloptera (morphological data only), Odezia and Schistostege. The so far known geographic distribution of Lehmannodes guneyi is shown on a map. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The occurrence of Aphelinus paramali (Zehavi & Rosen) (Hym., Aphelinidae) was evidenced from North east Iran, in association with Aphis pomi (de Geer). This species is reported from Iran for the first time, and A. pomi is introduced as a new host for this parasitoid. Detailed morphological characters were studied with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) photographs. Also, sequences of ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) and cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) genes were used for determining species boundaries and comparing with other Aphelinus species. Different results were obtained in phylogenetic analysis of these two regions. Analysis of COI gene supported the closer relationship of this species with Aphelinus abdominalis. This is the first data about comprehensive characterization of a parasitic wasp using morphological characters, SEM and two-locus information from Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stephanid species, Afromegischus gigas (Schletterer, 1889) (Hym.: Stephanidae) which was originally described from Iran based on the holotype only, was rediscovered. A re-description of the female and the first description of the male are provided, and important characters of both sexes are illustrated. It was reared on Bostrichus capucimus (L.) (Col.: Bustrichidae) for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]