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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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The effect of various host plants including chickpea (varieties Arman, Hashem, Azad and Binivich), common bean (variety Khomein), white kidney bean (variety Dehghan), red kidney bean (variety Goli), cowpea (variety Mashhad), and tomato (variety Meshkin) on the reproductive performance and growth indices of the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) was determined under laboratory conditions (25 ± 1°C, 65 ± 5% RH and a 16:8 h light:dark photoperiod). The highest rate of gross fecundity, gross fertility, net fecundity, net fertility, mean daily eggs and mean daily fertile eggs were observed on chickpea Arman (2947.8 ± 7.8, 2933.0 ± 7.8, 2404.2 ± 7.1, 2392.2 ± 7.1, 170.9 ± 0.4, and 170.1 ± 0.4 eggs female^-1, respectively), whereas the lowest values of these parameters were on tomato Meshkin (847.5 ± 9.2, 673.8 ± 7.3, 225.5 ± 2.6, 179.3 ± 2.1, 67.9 ± 0.7 and 54.3 ± 0.5 eggs female^-1, respectively). The development index of overall immature stages varied from 1.10 to 1.57, with the minimum on tomato Meshkin and the maximum on chickpea Arman. Also, the fitness and standardized insect-growth indices were highest (0.349 ± 0.009 and 0.058 ± 0.001 gr day^-1) and lowest (0.052 ± 0.001 and 0.013 ± 0.000 gr day^-1) on chickpea Arman and tomato Meshkin, respectively. The Weibull model sufficiently described the shape of the survivorship curve of adult H. armigera from life-table data. A significant fit was obtained with the Weibull model for H. armigera in all experimental host plants. The results of reproductive performance, growth indices and the cluster analysis showed that tomato Meshkin was partially resistant to H. armigera.

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This study was conducted to collect and identify ichneumonid parasitoids of tephritid fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) feeding on the plants of the family Asteraceae in the northwest of Iran during 2013-2015. Five species of ichneumon wasps on five species of fruit flies were reared. They were as follows: Cremastus lineatus on Urophora terebrans; Diadegma maculatum on Hypenidium robrowskii; Scambus brevicornis on Sphenella marginata, Scambus rufator on Terellia gynacochroma and Urophora sp. and Tranosema sp. on Tephritis sp. dioscurea group. Of them, Cremastus lineatus, S. rufator and Tranosema sp. are new records for ichneumonid fauna of Iran. All host-parasitoid-plant associations were newly established to the science. General distribution of these parasitoids and their biological associations were discussed.

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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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The effect of host diet on developmental time, fecundity and life-table parameters of Bracon hebetor (Say) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) against the Mediterranean flour moth Ephestia kuehniella (Zeller) was studied in the laboratory condition at 26 ± 1 °C, 65 ± 5% relative humidity and a photoperiod of 16L:8D h. The diets used were rice, barley, corn and wheat flours. The developmental time (egg to adult) of the first and second generations ranged from 9.00 to 14.00 days on barley flour and wheat flour, respectively. The survival of immature generations 1 and 2 ranged from 27 to 63%. The sex ratio of wasp progeny (females/total) ranged from 36.72 to 57.83% on wheat flour and rice flour, respectively. In the first and second generations, the fecundity of B. hebetor reared on barley and rice flours was greatest. Life table parameters varied significantly with host diets. In generation 2, B. hebetor-parasitized larvae reared on rice flour showed the highest net reproduction rate (R₀ = 106.13) and the highest intrinsic rate of increase (r_m = 0.269) of parasitoids. Based on the life-table analyses, rice flour was found to be the best diet for rearing the parasitoid. The results of this study can be used to improve mass-rearing programs of B. hebetor.    

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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 cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner), is a serious pest on a wide range of economic crops in many parts of the world. In this study, digestive proteolytic and amylolytic activities of H. armigera larvae (3^rd to 5^th instars) were evaluated on five main host plants including chickpea (cv Hashem), cowpea (cv Mashhad), soybean (cv 033), navybean (cv Dehghan), and corn (cv SC 704) at 25 ± 1 °C, relative humidity of 65 ± 5% and a photoperiod of 16: 8 (L: D) hours. The results indicated that the highest enzyme activity was in 5^th instar. The highest general protease activity of 3^rd, 4^th and 5^thinstar larvae was found on corn. The larvae fed on corn had the lowest trypsin activity. This leads to hyperproduction of chymotrypsin and elastase-like enzymes to compensate the inhibition of trypsin. The larvae of H. armigera reared on cowpea had the highest level of amylase activity, and the lowest activity was in the larvae fed on corn. The results revealed that among host plants tested, corn was more resistant (unsuitable) to H. armigera. Study on digestive proteolytic and amylolytic activities of H. armigera can be used in identifying the antidigestive or antifeedent compounds, which will help us to design appropriate management programs.

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Rosy apple aphid, Dysaphis plantaginea (Passerini), with worldwide distribution is an important pest of apple orchards. Host plant resistance is an essential component of integrated management of this insect pest. We investigated the resistance of seven apple cultivars, Malus domestica (Borkhausen), namely Granny Smith, Starkrimson, Golden Smoothee, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Boshghabi, and Shaki to rosy apple aphid under field and greenhouse conditions. The damage level by rosy apple aphid was significantly different among the tested cultivars precisely three weeks after infestation in both field and greenhouse conditions. The least leaf curling was observed on Shaki, while the most deformation was detected on Golden Delicious. There was positive correlation between damage in greenhouse and field studies. In addition, the lowest and highest numbers of aphids were observed on Shaki and Golden Delicious, respectively. Consequently, our results demonstrated that among the cultivars tested the Shaki cultivar is moderately resistant to rosy apple aphid and has the potential to be used in the integrated management of this aphid.  

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An updated checklist of 129 species in 62 genera belonging to 10 subfamilies of Pteromalidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) known from Iran is presented. One genus, Trychnosoma Graham, 1957 and three species, Systasis ephedrae Dzhanokmen, 1982; Trychnosoma punctipleura Thomson, 1878 and Spalangia rugulosa Förster, 1850 are newly recorded for the fauna of Iran. Hosts and distributional data in Iran are also presented.

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In recent years, the Russian Wheat Aphid, has been included worldwidely in the list of the important pests of cereals, particularly wheat plants. In addition to direct serious damage, the aphid is the main vector of Barley Yellow Dwarf, Barley Mosaic, and Sugarcane Mosaic Viruses. The pest was reported from East Azarbaidjan province (Iran) a few years ago and it is now widespread in Tabriz, Ahar and Kaleybar wheat fields. In the present study, the possibility of any resistance was looked for at the tillering stage in Sardari, Sabalan, Alvand, Zarrin and Alamoot, the most extensively planted varieties in the province. The experiment was conducted under glasshouse conditions of 24.4±1.6 oC with 50- 60% R.H. and a photoperiod of 14:l0(L:D). Antibiosis was determined by studying the percentage survival of the nymphs, their developmental time, and fecundity (total number of progeny per /female produced within the first 10 and 15 days of the reproductive cycle) calculating the relevant intrinsic rate of natural increase (rm values). The analysis of variance indicated that, regarding the last two parameters, there were significant differences (P<0.05) between the varieties. The highest (43.21±5.45) and the lowest (34.43±8.91) average numbers of progeny within the first 10 days were observed in those reared on the Sardari and Zarrin varieties respectively but the figures obtained within the first 15 days were found to be 49,43±13.31 on Alamoot and 58.86±9.45 on Sardari. Also the highest mean “rm” value (0.3399±0.01) was estimated for rearings on Sardari with the smallest (0.2889±0.03) on the latter. At present, Sardari seems to be more likley susceptible to the aphid amongst the others. Field trials and experiments on later phenological stages of the wheats and potential role of other resistance mechanisms is going on.

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Anthocoris nemoralis (F.) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) is one of the most prominent predators of the pear psylla, Cacopsylla pyricola (Forster) (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) and is considered as a biological control agent against this pest. In order to investigate the effects of plant varieties on predation of C. pyricola by A. nemoralis, the functional response of both the sexes of A. nemoralis to pear psylla nymphs was studied on three pear varieties including ‘Shahmiveh’, as a susceptible host plant and ‘Sebri’ and ‘Coscia’, as partially-resistant host plants. Different densities of C. pyricola nymphs were offered to single A. nemoralis and predation proceeded for 24 h. The experiments were carried out under constant environmental conditions (27 ± 1 °C, 70 ± 5% RH and L: D 16: 8 h). Logistic regression and nonlinear least-squares regression were used to determine the type of functional response and to estimate attack rate (a) and handling time (T_h), respectively. The results showed a type II functional response on all varieties. The asymptotic 95% confidence intervals, estimated by the model with indicator variable revealed that there was no significant difference between either the attack rates or between handling times of same sex of the predator on the tested varieties. However, when sexes were compared, the females of A. nemoralis had a shorter handling time and higher searching efficiency than the males on all varieties. The maximum predicted daily prey consumption by a female predator (T/T_h) was the highest on the susceptible variety. Based on the type of functional response and its parameter values, the effectiveness of A. nemoralis was not affected by plant resistance; these findings may be promising for the integration of the partially-resistant varieties and A. nemoralis in sustainable pest management programs against the pear psylla. The implications of the results for biological control of pear psylla are discussed in a tritrophic context.  

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The Erysiphaceae are obligatory parasitic fungi that cause powdery mildew disease of green space plants. During this study, powdery mildew fungi were collected and identified from different localities of Ardabil landscape, Iran. Erysiphe rayssiae (on Spartium junceum), Erysiphe robiniae var. robiniae (on Robinia pseudoacacia) and Euoidium cf. agerati (on Ageratum houstonianum)are new records for mycobiota of Iran. Jasminum sp. is reported as Matrix nova for Erysiphe syringae-japonicae. Also this is the first record of Golovinomyces montagnei on Cirsium arvense and Golovinomyces orontii on Antirrhinum majus in Iran. The taxa including Erysiphe astragali on Astragalus sp., Erysiphe crucifearum on Brassica elongata, Erysiphe polygoni on Rumex sp., Golovinomyces cichoracearum on Cichorium intybus and Golovinomyces sordidus on Plantago sp. are newly found in Ardabil province. Furthermore, some specimens belonging to Podosphaera fusca s.l. were assessed. According to the new species concept, concerning these taxa, Podosphaera fusca s.s. was redescribed, and Podosphaera erigerontis-canadensis on Taraxacum sp. is reported for the first time, although previously reported from Iran under the Podosphaera fusca.  

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The relationship between female oviposition preference and offspring performance is a key area of study on the evolution of host specificity. This study investigates host prefer-ence of the polyphagous hover fly Syrphus ribesii (Diptera: Syrphidae) and compares it with some components of its offspring`s performance. Females and offspring were tested on six naturally used aphid hosts (blackberry, dock, nettle, pea, rose, and sycamore aphids). In the laboratory, larvae were able to develop successfully on aphids which were rarely selected for oviposition by gravid females. Despite the relatively small differences in performance resulting from feeding on different aphids, there was evidence for a pref-erence-performance correlation in the generalist S. ribesii.

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Chromatomyia horticola (Goureau) (Diptera: Agromyzidae) is a highly polyphagous leaf miner that causes severe damage to different crops. Sampling on the Alysiinae (Braconidae) parasitoids of C. horticola was performed at various locations of Kermanshah province during 2009–2010. Infested leaves of host plants bearing the larvae and puparia of C. horticola were collected and placed inside the plastic rearing boxes and transferred to laboratory. The samples were preserved for 2–4 weeks, until the emergence of parasitoids. Three species of Alysiinae parasitoids were reared and identified in association with C. horticola in Kermanshah including, Chorebus (Stiphrocera) aphantus (Marshall, 1986), Chorebus (Stiphrocera) uliginosus (Haliday, 1839) and Dacnusa (Aphanta) hospita (Foerster, 1862). All three species have been recorded for the first time as parasitoids of C. horticola. In addition, C. aphantus is newly recorded for the fauna of Iran. An identification key to the parasitoid species is given.  

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Three Phyllonorycter species namely, Ph. coryli (Nicelli, 1851), Ph. millierella (Staudinger, 1871) and Ph. roboris (Zeller, 1839) are newly reported for the fauna of Iran. These species are collected in Azarbaijan-e Sharghi, Tehran and Kordestan provinces, respectively. The first two species were collected as larvae while feeding on Carpinus betulus L. (Betulaceae) and Celtis australis L. (Cannabaceae), in the order, and the last one collected as adult in an Oak forest using light trap. The genus Carpinus L. and C. betulus are newly reported as larval host plant for Ph. coryli. Brief taxonomic characterizations of these species are provided and an updated list of the Phyllonorycter species occurring in Iran is presented.

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Israelius carthami Richards, 1952 was recorded for the first time from Iran, based on reared specimens from three Asteraceae capitulum: Cirsium congestum Fisch. & C.A.Mey., Carthamus lanatus L. and Xeranthemums quarrosum Boiss. In our rearing, a fruit fly species [Terellia nigripalpis Hendel (Diptera: Tephritidae)] was obtained on C. congestum. All host-plant associations are newly established to the science. General distribution of this parasitoid and their biological associations were discussed.

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Laboratory experiments were conducted to understand the influence of host-finding behaviour of Apanteles subandinus Blanchard and Orgilus lepidus Muesebeck, two endoparasitoids of the potato tuber moth (PTM) Phthorimaea operculella Zeller (Lepidop-tera: Gelechiidae), in a successful biological control of the pest. Responses of the two parasitoids to their host and to three host plants of the PTM were investigated in a wind tunnel individually. The results suggested that host-finding by both parasitoids is stimu-lated by a combination of chemicals. Females of both species discriminate between the volatiles of a mechanically damaged plant and those of PTM larvae-damaged plant. The combination of odours originating from plant host on which the host is feeding play a cru-cial role in the foraging behavior of these parasitoids. Developmental experience during larval stages and experience of adults to host plant influence their foraging for host. The implications of parasitoid response towards plant volatiles and their importance in bio-logical control are discussed. Additional experiments are necessary to isolate and identify the nature of the volatile chemicals released from the host-plant complex and use them to improve the biological control of the pest.

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Nutritional indices of the willow leaf beetle, Plagiodera versicolora Laicharting, third instar larvae and adults were studied on four host plants including Salix alba L., Salix aegyptica L., Populus caspica Bornm.and Populus alba L.at 22 ± 2 ºC, 70 ± 10% R.H., and a photoperiod of 16:8 h (L: D). The results showed that the highest consumed food by the larvae and adults (148.5 ± 18.0 and 175.21 ± 4.51 mg dry weight, respectively) was on P. caspica. The larvae fed on S. alba and S. aegyptica had the highest efficiency of conversion of ingested food (ECI) (2.3 ± 0.33 and 2.23 ± 0.67%, respectively) and efficiency of conversion of digested food (ECD) (2.5 ± 0.35 and 2.41 ± 0.72%, respectively). Approximate digestibility (AD) of larvae was the highest on P. caspica and P. alba (98.51 ± 0.25 and 98.14 ± 0.1%, respectively). The lowest relative consumption rate (RCR) of the larvae and adults was on S. alba (0.14 ± 0.001 and 0.13 ± 0.006 mg/mg/day, respectively). ECI and ECD values of the adults fed on various host plants were not significantly different. Adults fed on P. caspica had the highest values of RCR (0.59 ± 0.01 mg/mg/day), relative growth rate (RGR) (0.02 ± 0.008 mg/mg/day) and AD (98.72 ± 0.24%). These results demonstrated the higher feeding performance of the willow leaf beetle on P. caspica and its poorer performance on P. alba.  

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Pauesia antennata Mukerji (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) as the unique parasitoid of the giant brown peach aphid, Pterochloroides persiace Cholodkovsky (Hemiptera, Aphididae) is considered to be the most effective biological control agent of this pest. In this study, the assessment of selected biological parameters of P. antennata demonstrated that the longevity of mature parasitoid was 3.90 ± 0.22, the developmental time was 14.48 ± 1.05 and the life span was 19.46 ± 0.68 days. The maximum flight activity and oviposition were observed at the second and third days of the parasitoid lifespan. The parasitism, emergence rates and the sex ratio were affected by the variations in the number of P. persicae relative to each population of the parasitoid.