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Abstract The aphid parasitoids, Aphidius colemnai Viereck and A. matricariae (Haliday) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae) have high potential as the most effective biological control agents for controlling the cotton aphis Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae). In this investigation, the effect of five constant temperatures (10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 °C) on the reproductive parameters was studied at 65 ±5% relative humidity and a photoperiod of 16L: 8 D hours In this study, the newly laid (one- day old) eggs were reared on third instar nymphs of cotton aphid, and the pupal and adult stages of the parasitoids were recorded daily, until the last individual was found dead. The experiments were carried out with 15 replications at each temperature. The results revealed that the gross fecundity and fertility rates were significantly different at all tested temperatures for both species (P

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The eucoiline genus Hexacola Foerster, 1869 is present in the Afrotropical, Neotropical, Holarctic and Ethiopian regions, as well as Oceania. In this paper, three species are reported for the first time in Argentina: Hexacola hexatoma (Hartig 1841), Hexacola bifarium Quinlan, 1986 and Hexacola bonaerensis Reche, nom. nov. proposed to replace Hexacola fuscipes (Kieffer 1908) by homonymy with Hexacola fuscipes (Kieffer 1907). Their redescriptions are provided. Species from Argentina are parasitoids of Ephydridae and Chloropidae (Diptera). New distribution data, new host records and a key for Argentinian species are provided. Photographs of diagnostic characters and georeference of locality of collections are included. The material examined is deposited in the collection of the División Entomología, Museo de La Plata (Argentina).

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Six species of pteromalid wasps associated with plant galls, Rosa beggeriana Schrenk,  Ephedra major Host and Salix pycnostachya Andersson were collected from Kerman province, during 2010-2011. The identified wasps belong to four genera: Caenacis Förster, 1856, Gastrancistrus  Westwood, 1833, Mesopolobus Westwood, 1833, and Pteromalus Swederus, 1795. Three species are newly recorded for the Iranian fauna: Gastrancistrus ephedrae Dzhanokmen, 1994 (Pireninae), Pteromalus cyniphidis (Linnaeus, 1758) and P. dolichurus (Thomson, 1878) (Pteromalinae). Gastrancistrus ephedrae is associated with an unknown species of insect on E. major, P. bedeguaris (Thomson, 1878) with Diplolepis fructuum (Rübsaamen, 1882) (Hym.: Cynipidae) on R. beggeriana, P. cyniphidis and P. dolichurus with an unknown species of insect in leaf galls on S. pycnostachya, and Caenacis cf. inflexa and Mesopolobus sericeus with D. fructuum on R. beggeriana. Three new biological associations were found: M. sericeus with D. fructuum, and P. cyniphidis and P. dolichurus with S. pycnostachya. Short taxonomic comments, hosts and geographical distribution of the species are briefly mentioned.

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In the present study, the Alysiini (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Alysiinae) material from Switzerland deposited in the Entomological collection of Natural History Museum London (UK) and Biologiezentrum Linz (Austria) was identified. A total of 56 Alysiini species are catalogued. Thirty-eight species are recorded for the first time for the Swiss fauna. A faunistic list with distribution data is provided.

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Eupelmidae of Iran are revised based on collected material mainly from the northwest and accessible published data. This family in Iran includes 31 species in two subfamilies (Calosotinae and Eupelminae) and seven genera Anastatus Motschulsky, 1859 (four species), Arachnophaga Ashmead, 1896 (one species), Brasema Cameron, 1884 (one species), Calosota Curtis, 1836 (one species), Calymmochilus Masi, 1919 (one species), Eupelmus Dalman, 1820 (22 species) and Eusandalum Ratzeburg, 1852 (one species). The genus Calymmochilus and four species Calymmochilus dispar Bouček & Andriescu, 1967; Eupelmus pini Taylor, 1927; E. splendens Giraud, 1872 and E. vindex Erdös, 1955 are new records for Iran.

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Fifteen species belonging to ten genera of the encyrtid wasps (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea, Encyrtidae) were collected in southern Iran and are presented here with the host records. Four species are newly recorded for the Iranian fauna: Blastothrix aprica Sugonjaev, 1964; Psyllaephagus belanensis (Hoffer, 1963); Psyllaephagus pulchellus (Mercet, 1921) and Anagyrus archangelskayae Trjapitzin, 1972. Some new host associations were found for 10 encyrtid species. Two misidentifications were corrected. Available biological data as well as geographical distribution for each species are also included.

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In a taxonomic study of the subfamily Phasiinae (Diptera: Tachinidae), seven species and the three genera Opesia Robineau-Desvoidy, Subclytia Pandellé and Xysta Meigen are recorded for the first time from Iran. The diagnostic characters, distributional data along with the photographs of species are presented. Taxonomical positions of the genera and species are discussed.

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Fauna of the Aphidiinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) of Iran is reviewed and the data on their host aphid associations are summarized. Seventy-eight species belonging to 17 genera of Aphidiinae are listed in the associations with 193 aphid species. A total of 491 parasitoid-aphid associations are presented. The distribution of the Aphidiinae species in different parts of Iran and other countries is also discussed.  

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The present paper provides the updated checklist of the genera and species in the subfamily Alysiinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from Iran. A total of 55 species belonging to 13 genera have been listed, that had been recorded from 15 provinces. The recorded species belong to the genera Alloea Haliday, 1833 (one species), Aphaereta Foerster, 1862 (two species), Aspilota Foerster, 1862 (two species), Dinotrema Foerster, 1862 (four species), Idiasta Foerster, 1862 (one species), Orthostigma Ratzeburg, 1844 (three species), Phaenocarpa Foerster, 1861 (one species), Pseudopezomachus Montero, 1905 (one species) and Synaldis Foerster, 1862 (four species) from the tribe Alysiini, and Chorebus Haliday, 1833 (28 species), Coelinidea Viereck 1913 (one species), Dacnusa Haliday, 1833 (five species) and Protodacnusa Griffiths, 1964 (two species) from the tribe Dacnusini.

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The present paper provides information about the Alysiinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) species captured in Kerman province (Iran). A total of 14 species belonging to eight genera were collected and identified, of which three species are reported for the first time from Iran: Dinotrema (Prosapha) speculum (Haliday, 1838), Idiasta (Idiasta) dichrocera Konigsmann, 1960 and Protodacnus atristis (Nees, 1834). Diagnostic characters of the newly recorded species is presented.

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The subfamily Microgastrinae Foerster, 1862 (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonoidea, Braconidae) is a challenging and the most diverse groups of braconids that has significant importance in biological control programs. They are koinobiont endoparasitoids of lepidopteran larvae and generally attack and develop in early instars and exit from the host larvae to pupate. In current paper, the findings of primary taxonomic investigations on these valuable biocontrol agents is presented and for each genus, the general habitus of a represented species is illustrated. Also, the proportion of known hosts for some genera was provided. The purpose of this paper is to provide a preliminary information of the Microgastrinae in Iran to serve as a starting point for future studies on the group and to encourage further study of more species in other regions of Iran, on various aspects of taxonomic, ecological, host associations, conservation, DNA barcoding and bio-control.

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Considering the importance of parasitic wasps in biological control of pests, a faunal study was conducted in the year 2012 on eulophid wasps (Hym.: Chalcidoidea) in rice fields in the east of Guilan province, southern coast of Caspian Sea. Several specimens were captured via Malaise traps. The specimens were identified as Aprostocetus deobensis (Graham), Aprostocetus mycerinus (Walker), Elasmus phthorimaeae Ferrière and Hemiptarsenus sp. Two species, A. deobensis and A. mycerinus are new records for Iran. In addition, association of A. deobensis, A. mycerinus and E. phthorimaeae with rice is new.  

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The present study provides new data about the fauna and phenology of Opiinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) species captured in high mountain areas of Kerman province (South-Eastern Iran). Sampling was carried out from April 2014 to September 2015. In total, 19 species belonging to four genera have been listed of which Opius (Cryptonastes) gracilis Fischer, 1957, Phaedrotoma gafsaensis (Fischer, 1964) and Phaedrotoma scaptomyzae (Fischer, 1967) are recorded for the first time from Iran.

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This is the first report of two ectoparasitoid wasps, Elachertus inunctus (Nees, 1834) in Iran and Elachertus pulcher (Erdös, 1961) (Hym.: Eulophidae) in the world, that parasitize larvae of the tomato leaf miner, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick, 1917) (Lep.: Gelechiidae). The specimens were collected from tomato fields and greenhouses in Ahwaz, Khouzestan province (south west of Iran). Both species are new records for fauna of Iran. The knowledge about these parasitoids is still scanty. The potential of these parasitoids for biological control of T. absoluta in tomato fields and greenhouses should be investigated.

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A total of seven Dacnusini (Hym., Braconidae, Alysiinae) species are recorded for the first time for Sweden: Antrusa chrysotegula (Tobias, 1986), Aristelix phaenicura (Haliday, 1839), Chorebus (Phaenolexis) caesariatus Griffiths, 1967, Chorebus (Chorebus) scabrifossa Stelfox, 1957, Coelinidea gracilis (Curtis, 1829), Eucoelinidea compressa Tobias, 1979 and Sarops rea Nixon, 1942. Moreover, the genera Aristelix Nixon, 1943, Eucoelinidea Tobias, 1979 and Sarops Nixon, 1942 are thus recorded for the first time in Sweden. Finally, a checklist of the Swedish Dacnusini species is provided.

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The genus Latibulus Gistel, 1848 (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) is taxonomically reviewed in Iran. Specimens were collected using Malaise traps in the Isfahan province, during 2013–2015. Two species, Latibulus argiolus (Rossi, 1790) (spring form) and Latibulus orientalis (Horstmann, 1987) (summer form) are identified, of which L. orientalis is a new record for the fauna of Iran. In addition, L. argiolus is recorded from central part of Iran (Isfahan) for the first time. The geographical distribution of the recorded species in relation to the overall knowledge in the target area and adjacent regions is also discussed.

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The genera Psilocera Walker and Stinoplus Thomson (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae, Pteromalinae) are recorded for the first time from Iran. They are represented by two species, Psilocera obscura Walker, 1833 and Stinoplus etearchus (Walker, 1848), respectively. First species was collected from central part (Isfahan Province) of Iran, by the Malaise-trap and the second was collected from North East (North Khorasan Province) by sweeping net. Brief diagnosis, with illustrations of the morphological characters are provided for each species.

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The effects of four insecticides, abamectin (1500 and 750mgl^-1), emamectin benzoate (1000 and 500mgl^-1), acetamiprid (500 and 250mgl^-1), and flubendiamide (500 and 250mgl^-1), were studied on different preimaginal stages of T. brassicae and T. evanescens, the egg parasitoids of tomato leaf miner Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). Parasitized eggs of the Angoumois grain moth Sitotroga cerealella (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) were treated by the dipping method at the larval, prepupal, and pupal stages of the parasitoid. For persistence evaluation, the insecticides were applied at the recommended concentration on tomato plants by a hand sprayer till runoff point. Plants were maintained under a transparent polyethylene rain cover in the field. Leaves of the treated tomato plants were sampled and transferred to the laboratory at time intervals of 3, 5, 16, and 31 days after application. Based on our study, abamectin was the most harmful insecticide for immature stages of both parasitoids T. brassicae and T. evanescence. Treatment by abamectin at the pupal stage had more adverse effects compared to prepupal or larval stages. Acetamiprid with 30.5% and 31.6% mortality in less than five days was classified as the short-lived insecticide for T. brassicae and T. evanescens, respectively. The same result was obtained in flubendiamide treatment which caused 27.2% and 26.1% mortality to the parasitoids, respectively. Abamectin with 16.1% and 13.8% mortality in less than 16 days was slightly persistent. However, emamectin benzoate with 13.3% and 15.5% mortality in less than 30 days was classified as moderately persistent for those two species, respectively. Therefore, flubendiamide and acetamiprid were non-harmful to both T. brassicae and T. evanescence wasps and are good candidates to be incorporated into IPM programs in combination with biological agents for the control of tomato leaf miner T. absoluta. By contrast, emamectin and abamectin should be used with greater care as a part of an IPM procedure.

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Species of the family Pteromalidae from the Middle East countries are reviewed. A total of 445 species within 134 genera and 17 subfamilies are recorded from 20 countries including Algeria (25 genera, 37 species), Egypt (27 genera, 37 species), Iran (84 genera, 211 species), Iraq (13 genera, 18 species), Israel (34 genera, 53 species), Jordan (8 genera, 9 species), Kuwait (1 genus, 1 species), Lebanon (5 genera, 5 species), Libya (9 genera, 10 species), Morocco (71 genera, 122 species), Oman (3 genera, 5 species), Palestine (5 genera, 5 species), Saudi Arabia (10 genera, 14 species), Syria (11 genera, 15 species), Tunisia (15 genera, 17 species), Turkey (75 genera, 236 species), United Arab Emirates (7 genera, 7 species), Yemen (27 genera, 45 species). There are no published records from Pteromalidae from Bahrain and Qatar. On the basis of the new findings in this study, 22 species in 15 genera are collected and identified from various regions of Iran. Among them, the genera Blascoa Askew, 1997 and Plutothrix Förster, 1856 and three species, Blascoa ephedrae Askew, 1997, Plutothrix trifasciata (Thomson, 1878) and Homoporus pulchripes Erdös, 1953 are newly recorded for the fauna of Iran, the genus Blascoa Askew and three species are new for the Middle East fauna. Biogeographically, the species of Pteromalidae recorded from the Middle East are widely distributed in the Western Palaearctic region. Of which, 268 species were found only throughout the Palaearctic with no records from other regions. Among the countries of the Middle East, the highest percentage of endemism for Pteromalidae species were found in Turkey (56 species, 12.6%) and Yemen (25 species, 5.6%), later country representing the fauna of both Palaearctic and Afrotropical regions. The distribution in the Middle East and zoogeographical distribution For each species are presented.