رحیم عبدالهی مصباح

Aquaculture development is challenged with limitation and high costs of supplying protein diets, so searching for alternative protein sources in fish diets is inevitable (Tacon, 2020). Insect meals are considered as a promising substitution protein ingredients last decades (Alfiko et al., 2022). Among candidates’ insect meals, Silkworm is well-balanced in protein as well as lipid and can be served as feedstuff (Mahanta et al., 2023). A study conducted to investigate if low level of silk worm pupa inclusion in fingerling Beluga sturgeon (Huso huso) diet could provide a protein source replacement accompanying with high benefit for the species.

Fingerling Beluga sturgeons (5±0.2 g, mean±SE) fed with experimental diets for a period of 8 weeks. Four experimental diets includes: no (SWP) inclusion as a control treatment (T0), 5, 10 and 15 percent (SWP) substitution referred as (T5, T10 and T15) treatments. At the end of the experiment, Weight Gain (WG), Specific Growth Rate (SGR) and Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) calculated to assess the diets quality on fish production. Hepatic enzyme (ALP, AST, and ALT) and serum biochemical (IgM, total protein and lysozyme) analyzed for revealing the health status of fish.

(SWP) treatments, in particular (T15) had a significant increase in (WG) compared to the control group (p<0.05). (SGR) as well as (CF) in (SWP) treatments showed no significant differences compare to the (T0) (p<0.05). (FCR) was significantly improved among (SWP) treatments, although the difference was not significant (p<0.05). Serum lysozyme, Serum immunoglobin and total protein in (T10) and (T15) were significantly increased compared to the control group, (T0) (p<0.05).

Our findings indicate the protein level adjusts and fixes with the (SWP) was efficiently enough to be replaced with fish meal in fingerling Beluga sturgeon (H. huso). The results of (SGR) as well as (CF) suggest that the replacement level could be changes to more to get a differently improved result. Hepatic enzymes showed that (SWP) did not affect impairment in digestive tract.  What’s more, blood biochemical analysis showed that (SWP) can have immunomodulatory effects on fingerling Beluga sturgeons (Zhou et al., 2022)

Considering the production of new silkworm hybrids by prominent countries in the sericulture industry such as China and the import of these hybrids to the country in recent years, it is necessary to update these evaluations so that correct decisions can be made to choose the most suitable type of hybrid in terms of functional traits. Therefore, such comparisons are done annually and the results are sent to the Iran Sericultural Corporation- Silk Worm Research Center as an executive body for final decision. The present study aimed to investigate the performance of eight Chinese commercial silkworm hybrids, including Suju×Minghu (S×M), Minghu×Suju (M×S), Baiyue×Qiufeng (B×Q), Qiufeng×Baiyue (Q×B), BaiyueB×QiufengA (BB×QA), QiufengA×BaiyueB (QA×BB), 874×873, and 874×873. Hybrids 872×871 and 872×871 also were among the studied hybrids, but due to the decrease in the performance of cocoon-related traits compared to other hybrids that had a big difference in terms of the obtained values, they were removed and excluded from the final analysis. The desired hybrids for 14 traits including best cocoons weight produced per 26,000 larvae (BCW), total cocoons weight produced per 26,000 larvae (TCW), number of cocoons per liter (NCPL), weight of cocoons per liter (WCPL), percentage of pupa viability (PPV), mean weight of a cocoon (MWC), mean weight of a cocoon shell (MWCS), mean of cocoon shell percentage (MCSP), mean weight of a male cocoon (MWMC), mean weight of a male cocoon shell (MWMCS), mean of male cocoon shell percentage (MMCSP), mean weight of a female cocoon (MWFC), mean weight of a female cocoon shell (MWFCS), and mean of female cocoon shell percentage (MFCSP) were reared in the spring of 2022 after hatching and according to standard methods and under the same conditions in Iran Silk Research Center and their performance was recorded. Each silkworm hybrid was reared in three replications of 200 larvae (total number of observations including 600 records per hybrid for all traits) in a completely randomized design. The analysis of the obtained data was done by SAS software by using the procedure of generalized linear model (GLM), and the average performance of the traits was compared to each other using Tukey's range test at the probability level of P<0.05. The results of the analysis of variance for the studied traits showed that the effect of the hybrid type for most of the studied traits including best cocoons weight produced per 26,000 larvae (BCW), total cocoons weight produced per 26,000 larvae (TCW), number of cocoons per liter (NCPL), the weight of cocoons per liter (WCPL), mean weight of a cocoon (MWC), mean weight of a cocoon shell (MWCS), mean of cocoon shell percentage (MCSP), mean weight of a male cocoon (MWMC), mean weight of a male cocoon shell (MWMCS), mean of male cocoon shell percentage (MMCSP), mean weight of a female cocoon (MWFC), mean weight of a female cocoon shell (MWFCS) and mean of female cocoon shell percentage (MFCSP) was significant (P<0.05). In the meantime, only traits of the percentage of pupa viability (PPV) as the most important index related to survival and the mean of male cocoon shell percentage (MMCSP) were not affected by the hybrid type (P<0.05). The average performance of the hybrids showed a significant difference (P<0.05) for all the traits except for the percentage of pupa viability (PPV) and the mean of cocoon shell percentage (MCSP). The BB×QA hybrid showed a higher performance than other hybrids for six traits including the best cocoons weight produced per 26,000 larvae (BCW), the total cocoons weight produced per 26,000 larvae (TCW), the weight of cocoons per liter (WCPL), the mean weight of a cocoon (MWC), the mean weight of a male cocoon (MWMC), and the mean weight of a female cocoon (MWFC) (P<0.01). Also, the M×S hybrid showed a higher performance than other hybrids for the five traits of the mean weight of a cocoon shell (MWCS), mean of cocoon shell percentage (MCSP), mean weight of a male cocoon shell (MWMCS), mean weight of a female cocoon shell (MWFCS), and the mean of female cocoon shell percentage (MFCSP) (P<0.05). In addition, the M×S hybrid showed the lowest value compared to other hybrids for the number of cocoons per liter (NCPL), which the lower values of this trait are preferred (P<0.01).  Based on the results of the present research, the priority of importing and rearing silkworm eggs in 2023 is suggested for BB×QA and M×S hybrids. Although the performance of these two hybrids with other hybrids, except for the 874×873 and 874×873 hybrids, is not significant in most of the examined traits, they can still be considered as next-import priorities. The desired hybrids for 14 traits including: best cocoons weight produced per 26,000 larvae (BCW), total cocoons weight produced per 26,000 larvae (TCW), number of cocoons per liter (NCPL), weight of cocoons per liter (WCPL), percentage of pupa viability (PPV), mean weight of a cocoon (MWC), mean weight of a cocoon shell (MWCS), mean of cocoon shell percentage (MCSP), mean weight of a male cocoon (MWMC), mean weight of a male cocoon shell (MWMCS), mean of male cocoon shell percentage (MMCSP), mean weight of a female cocoon (MWFC), mean weight of a female cocoon shell (MWFCS) and mean of female cocoon shell percentage (MFCSP) were reared in the spring of 2022 after hatching and according to standard methods and under the same conditions in Iran Silk Research Center and their performance was recorded. Each silkworm hybrid was reared in 3 replications of 200 larvae (total number of observations including 600 records per hybrid for all traits) in a completely randomized design. The analysis of the obtained data was done by SAS software (version 9.4) by using the procedure of generalized linear models (GLM) and the average performance of the traits was compared to each other using Tukey's range test at the probability level of P<0.05. The results of the analysis of variance for the studied traits show that the effect of the hybrid type for most of the studied traits including best cocoons weight produced per 26,000 larvae (BCW), total cocoons weight produced per 26,000 larvae (TCW), number of cocoons per liter (NCPL), the weight of cocoons per liter (WCPL), mean weight of a cocoon (MWC), mean weight of a cocoon shell (MWCS), mean of cocoon shell percentage (MCSP), mean weight of a male cocoon (MWMC), mean weight of a male cocoon shell (MWMCS), mean of male cocoon shell percentage (MMCSP), mean weight of a female cocoon (MWFC), mean weight of a female cocoon shell (MWFCS) and mean of female cocoon shell percentage (MFCSP) is significant (P<0.05). In the meantime, only traits of the percentage of pupa viability (PPV) as the most important index related to survival and the mean of male cocoon shell percentage (MMCSP) were not affected by the hybrid type (P<0.05). The average performance of the hybrids showed a significant difference (P<0.05) for all the traits except for percentage of pupa viability (PPV) and the mean of cocoon shell percentage (MCSP). The hybrid BB*QA showed a higher performance than other hybrids for six traits including the best cocoons weight produced per 26,000 larvae (BCW), the total cocoons weight produced per 26,000 larvae (TCW), the weight of cocoons per liter (WCPL), the mean weight of a cocoon (MWC), the mean weight of a male cocoon (MWMC) and the mean weight of a female cocoon (MWFC) (P<0.01). Also, the M*S hybrid showed a higher performance than other hybrids for the five traits of mean weight of a cocoon shell (MWCS), mean of cocoon shell percentage (MCSP), mean weight of a male cocoon shell (MWMCS), mean weight of a female cocoon shell (MWFCS), and the mean of female cocoon shell percentage (MFCSP) (P< 0.05). Also, the M*S hybrid showed the lowest value compared to other hybrids for the number of cocoons per liter (NCPL); the lower values of which are preferred (P<0.01). Based on the results of the present research, the priority of importing and rearing silkworm eggs in 2023 is suggested for BB*QA and M*S hybrids. Although the performance of these two hybrids with other hybrids, except for the 874×873 and 874×873 hybrids, is not significant in most of the examined traits, and they can still be considered as next import priorities.

Spotted Amber Ladybird, Hippodamia variegata (Goeze, 1777) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) is an important predator of aphids and some other insect pests. Since shape and size variation may affect biological characteristics of an insect, multivariate analysis of shape variations in four geographically isolated populations of H. variegata (Isfahan, Shahrekord, Shiraz, Yasuj) was performed based on eight landmarks of hind wing. According to the analysis, significant difference in weight matrices (as shape variable) was detected. The cluster analysis separated Isfahan population from other populations. According to ANOVA, we found significant difference in centroid size (as size variable), so that the two populations, Isfahan and Shahrekord, had larger wings than the two other populations. Distribution of 80 individuals based on partial warps on the relative warp axis placed Isfahan population in a separate group while the others had overlap and irregular distribution.

The fauna of the superfamily Bombylioidea was studied in Alborz province, Iran during 2012. Two families (Bombyliidae and Mythicomyiidae), eight genera and ten species were identified, of which two species, Exoprospora dispar Loew, 1869; Parageron lutescens (Bezzi, 1925), are new records for the Iranian fauna. An identification key for the species of the family Mythicomyiidae known from Iran is given.

Bee flies are important pollinators in nature. Their larvae are predators or parasites of other insects such as beetles and locust eggs so they are important for balancing of insect population. In this study the adult bee flies were collected from arid and semi-arid rangelands in Alborz province using insect nets and Pan traps from April to September in 2012. The samples which were extracted from white pan traps، stored in 96% ethanol and others were stabilized by standard insect pins. The samples were identified using some keys such sa: Greathead & Evenhuis (2001) at the genus level and keys Engel (1932-1937)، Linder (1975)، Zaitzev (1966) and Gharali (2010) at the species level. All of the species were confirmed with Dr Babak Gharali in Research Center for Agriculture and Natural Resources of Ghazvin province. A total of 18 species and 12 genera were identified. All of the species are new records for the province، of which two species are new records for Iran. Identified species are as follows: Exoprosopa pectoralis Loew، 1862، E. grandis (Weidemann، 1820)، E. amseli Oldroyd، 1961*، Caecanthrax arabicus (Macquart، 1840)، Thyridanthrax. elegans (Weidemann، 1820)،

The males and females of Colorado beetles do not reveal clear dimorphism and therefore they have high resemblance so that recognition of the sexes by simple eye is too difficult. In order to study sexual dimorphism in Colorado beetle، three geographical populations were collected from potato fields in Ardabil، Bahar and Hamedan regions by manual method and direct observation in the summer of 2012. Fore and hind wings were separated and 7 and 8 landmarks were orderly selected for the fore and hind wings at the end and angle of veins. Geometric coordinate of landmarks were converted to shape and size variables as comparison factors between the sexes. Wings relative variations were determined separately in male and female and it revealed variations of wing shape in evolutionary process. Multivariate analysis based on the results of regression of shape variables showed fore wing had allometry and hind wing had not allometry. Two way MANOVA analysis was conducted for observation of shape differences (base on average of shape variables) and size differences. The analysis showed that there were significant differences in shape of fore wing between the sexes.