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Mayetiola destructor (Say, 1817) originated in the Fertile Crescent region of the Middle East and is one of the most serious pests of wheat, rye and barley and more than 16 Poaceae wild species. Here, we report the occurrence of this species as an invasive pest for the first time in Iran. It was detected in wheat fields and rye in Qüshchï Pass, Urmia environ, West Azarbaijan province (September 2020) as well as in wheat fields in Bil-e Savar, Ardabil province (July 2024). The diagnostic characters and its life history as well as the photographs of the adult male and female, larvae, puparium, male genitalia and wing venation are provided. This is the second species from the genus Mayetiola that has been reported from Iran. To prevent the spread of this destructive pest in Iran, suitable management practices are urgently needed.

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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.

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 Three species of the genus Inostemma Haliday (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae), i.e. Inostemma discessus Szelenyi, I. koponeni Buhl and I. contariniae Szelenyi are reported as new records for the Iranian fauna. Inostemma discessus was reared for the first time from Ephedra gall midge, Ephedromyia debilopalpis Marikovskij (Dip.: Cecidomyiidae) on Ephedra sp. (Plantae: Ephedraceae) in the northwest Iran. The Iranian species of the genus Inostemma were listed.

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In a tri-trophic system, guild members may engage in IntraGuild Predation (IGP) and their interactions may be affected by the host plants. We used a system composed of the predatory gall midge, Aphidoletes aphidimyza Rondani, the parasitoid wasp, Aphidius colemani Viereck, and the melon aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover, to test how the outputs of IGP were affected by two cultivars of cucumber (Khasib and Karim). IGP between natural enemies were examined on a single cucumber plant of each cultivar infested with mummified, parasitized or healthy individuals of melon aphid in a controlled environment room at 25±2°C, 65±5% RH, and a photoperiod of 16L: 8D hours. According to the results, A. aphidimyza was the effective predator of parasitized aphids, but not on mummified ones. In treatments with either healthy or parasitized aphids alone, A. aphidimyza consumed significantly less numbers of healthy aphids or parasitized ones on Karim cultivar. When predators were provided with healthy aphids and parasitized aphids together on plants, the risk for parasitized aphids of being predated upon by A. aphidimyza larvae was significantly reduced on Karim cultivar. Manly’s Preference Index for healthy aphids on Karim cultivar was significantly the highest. The results revealed that the strength of IGP on IG-prey on Karim cultivar was less than Khasib cultivar. Therefore, better control of melon aphid population can be expected on this cultivar.