دکتر حمیدرضا حاجی قنبر

The two-spotted spider mite (TSSM), Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae)is a significant pest of strawberries, both in greenhouse and field conditions. Research was conducted to evaluate the impact of seven different strawberry cultivars (Albion, Gaviota, Camarosa, Paros, Ventana, Sabrina, and Selva) on the life history of TSSM under laboratory conditions at 25±1 °C, 65±5% RH, and a photoperiod of 16:8(L:D). The results showed that the pre-adult duration varied significantly from 8.95 to 9.92 days, whereAlbion and Gaviota had the longest (9.69 and 9.92 days, respectively),while Ventana had the shortest duration (8.59 days). Female longevity was longer on Albion compared to other cultivars, but there was no significant difference among the other cultivars tested. The highest fecundity was observed on Sabrina and Gaviota (113 and 108 eggs/female, respectively), while the lowest was recorded on Paros (67.97 eggs/female). TSSM had the highest intrinsic rate of increase (r) and finite rate of increase (λ) (0.265 d−1and 1.304 d−1, respectively) on Sabrina, while on Albion had the lowest ones (0.230 d−1and 1.259 d−1, respectively).The results indicated that TSSM preferred Sabrina, while Albion was less favorable for this phytophagous mite. This information can be useful for designing an integrated pest management programs to control the TSSM population.

A survey was conducted on the fauna of Ichneumonini Latreille, 1802 (Ichneumonidae: Ichneumoninae) in North-central area of Iran. The specimens were collected using Malaise traps from March to November in 2010–2011. A total of 28 species were identified, of which three species and one subspecies are recorded for the first time from Iran: Eutanyacra ruficornis Berthoumieu, 1894; Ichneumon quadrialbatus Gravenhorst, 1820; Ichneumon sarcitorius turkestanicus Heinrich, 1929; Stenobarichneumon basalis Perkins, 1960. As well 17 species are new provincial records. A new species, Anisopygus persicus Shirzadegan, Talebi & Riedel sp. nov. from Guilan province in northern Iran is described and illustrated. The known number of Ichneumonini species in Iran is now raised to 143. Detailed morphological characters of the newly recorded species and Virgichneumon albilineatus (Gravenhorst, 1820), as well as an updated list of the tribe Ichneumonini from Iran, are provided.

Moderate and humid region in north of Iran is home to a rich arthropod fauna, yet the mite fauna of Golestan province, with moderate Caspian climate, is poorly studied systematically. In this study, we conducted a faunistic study on heterostigmatic mites (Acari: Prostigmata: Eleutherengonides) associated with insects in Golestan Province. We used both day and overnight sampling methods to capture host insects in sampling sites. Thirteen species of seven heterostigmatic families were identified: Dolichocybidae (one species), Caraboacaridae (one species), Trochometridi-idae (one species), Neopygmephoridae (three species), Pygmephoridae (three species), Scutacaridae (two species) and Microdispidae (two species). The genus Formicomotes and subgenus Imparipes (Sporichneuthes) are new records for Iran and Asia, respectively. Beyond this, 13 new insect host records are reported for heterostigmatic mites. Finally, the world distribution of the recovered mites is reviewed.

In a study on insect-associated heterostigmatic mites (Acari: Trombidiformes: Prostigmata) carried out in Mazandaran province, northern Iran, during spring and summer 2016–2017, a total of 13 species from 11 genera of six families were identified. Among them, three species Imparipes sevastianovi Khaustov, 2008, Scutacarus hystrichocentrus Sevastianov, 1983 (Scutacaridae), and Petalomium kurosai Khaustov, 2014 (Neopygmephoridae) are new records for mite fauna of Iran. The S. hystrichocentrus is also new for Asian mite fauna. Eight new host records are documented and the distributions of the mites are revised. Beetles of the family Cerambycidae are recorded as host of the mite families Microdispidae and Scutacaridae for the first time.

Background Domestic mites (DM) refer to all indoor mite species such as house dust mites (HDM) and some of the storage mites that are able to induce IgE-mediated sensitization. These microscopic mites are one of the most known risk factors of allergies and respiratory diseases in homes and other indoor places. Considering the importance of DMs and lack of investigation on DMs in military areas of Iran, this study was designed to determine the fauna and biodiversity of DM in three military areas, North of Iran in 2017 - 2018. It was a cross-sectional study. Each military area was divided into three sampling zones (lieutenant dormitory, soldier dormitory and administrative place). In each sampling zone, seven places were randomly selected and dust samples were collected using a vacuum cleaner for 2 minutes from 1 m2 of the surface. After collection, samples were weighted separately. The mites were counted by a Stereo microscope, mounted in Hoyer’s medium, and identified by standard keys. The data were analyzed using statistical SPSS software version 17 and Microsoft Excel software version 2013 software. A total of 648 dust samples were examined, in total 1043 mites were collected and identified that 741 mites were from six species of DM. The most abundant species were Dermatophagoides farinae (72.74%) and D. pteronyssinus (14.58%), and the less abundant species were Glycyphagus domesticus (0.94%) and Euroglyphusmaynei (0.54%). The most of DMs were found in the lieutenant dormitory (84.3%) and just 1.9% of DMs in the administrative place. The DMs were found almost throughout the year with the highest peaks in Jun. (11.1%), August (13.1%), September (14.7%), and October (11.1%), and the smallest peak in January (3.8%), February (4.2%), and March (3.2%). The results of this study show that all military areas are contaminated by DMs. Although the density of DM did not exceed the risk thresholds (10 mg mites/gram dust or 100 mites/gram dust), in the first and third lieutenant dormitories were near the risk threshold from January to November. Therefore, we suggest the preventive measures, particularly in the lieutenant dormitories, should be more effective than the past.

A survey was carried out to investigate heterostigmatic mites associated with insects in Borujerd, Lorestan province, western Iran, in 2016. Insects were captured using light traps in the areas. Two species of the family Neopygmephoridae including Allopygmephorus spinisetus Khaustov & Sazhnev, 2016 and A. punctatus Khaustov & Sazhnev, 2016 were identified associated with beetles Drasterius bimaculatus (Rossi, 1790) (Coleoptera: Elateridae) and Augyles sp. (Col.: Heteroceridae). Both species are new records for mite fauna of Iran with the former being also new for Asia. Moreover, the association between mites of Allopygmephorus and elaterid beetles is new. A list of Iranian neopygmephorid mites is also provided.

In this survey the tribe Heresiarchini (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae, Ichneumoninae) of Alborz and Guilan provinces (Iran) was taxonomically studied. The specimens were collected using Malaise traps during March to November 2010. Three species including: Coelichneumon comitator (Linnaeus, 1758), Coelichneumon probator Horstmann, 2000 and Syspasis carinator (Fabricius, 1798) were identified of which C. probator is recorded for the first time from the Middle East and Iran. An updated checklist of Heresiarchini in Iran, as well as diagnostic characters of the new recorded species is presented.

There are 21 genera in the family Neopygmephoridae (Acari: Heterostigmata: Pygmephoroidea) (Khaustov and Mandelshtam 2017) in which many of them are associated with various arthropods including Chilopods, spiders, bees, ants, beetles and termites (Khaustov 2017). One of the neopygmephorid genera is Parapygmephorus encompassing eight species, associated with bees of the families Halictidae, Apidae, Colletidae and Megachilidae, and in one case on a spider wasp, Pompilidae (Fan et al. 2014). These phoretic mites feed on fungi in the nests of their bee hosts and are clinging them by a large and strong single claw on their first tibiotarsus (Cross 1965).
During a sampling of bees and their associate mites in Iran, the mite Parapygmephorus crossi Mahunka, 1974 (Figures 1A and 1B) recovered from Halictus (Halictus) resurgens Nurse, 1903 (Halictidae) (Figure 1C and 1D) in city park (Park Jangali) close to Yasouj, capital of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad province (Southwestern Iran) on 7 Septamber 2014. Twelve specimens of phoretic mites were found attaching to body hairs of a bee host. The materials are deposited in the Acarological Collection, Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
Mite Parapygmephorus crossi was collected and described for the first time on Halictus holtzi (Schultz) from Afghanistan (Mahunka 1974) characterized by setae ps1 longer than ps2 and setae ps3 distinctly shorter than ps2. So, it is first record of this species in Iran and second record in the world including Palaearctic. Previously, three other species of the Parapygmephorus were collected from Iran: P. khorasanicus Hajiqanbar and Khaustov, 2011 on Halictus quadricinctus (Fabricius); P. delyorum Mahunka, 1980 on an unidentified halictid bee; and P. magnisetosus Khaustov and Zaloznaya, 2011 on Amigella sp. and Eucera sp. (Apidae), Halictus spp. and Lasioglossum sp. (Halictidae), and Lithurgus chrysurus Fonscolombe, 1834 (Megachilidae) (Hajiqanbar et al. 2011a; Hajiqanbar et al. 2011b; Hajiqanbar and Rakhshani 2011; Loghmani et al. 2014; Sobhi et al. 2017).

Two genera and four species of myrmecophilous microdispid mites (Acari: eterostigmata: Microdispidae), associated with various ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), are recorded from northwestern Iran: Unguidispus japonicus Kurosa, 1979 phoretic on Lasius obscuratus Stitz, 1930, Caesarodispus samsinaki (Mahunka, 1967) on Formica sp., C. modestus (Berlese, 1903) on Messor sp. and C. minutus Sevastianov, 1981 on Tetramorium sp. The species C. samsinaki and U. japonicus are recorded for mite fauna of Iran for the first time. A new ant host record is also documented for U. japonicas. The world distributions of the recorded mites are presented. Moreover, all Iranian microdispid records, along with their host/habitat are reviewed and a key to their genera and species is provided.

This survey was conducted as a taxonomic work on the species of the tribe Phaeogenini (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae, Ichneumoninae)in North central Iran during March to November 2010 and 2011. Nine species belonging to six genera were identified, of which two genrea (i.e. Oronotus Wesmael, 1845 and Stenodontus Berthoumieu, 1897) and four species, Dicaelotus erythrostoma Wesmael, 1845, Dicaelotus pudibundus (Wesmael, 1845), Oronotus binotatus (Gravenhorst, 1829), Stenodontus marginellus (Gravenhorst, 1829) are newly recorded from Iran. This work raises the number of Phaeogenini of Iran to 27 species and 13 genera. An updated list of the species in tribe Phaeogenini and detailed morphological characters of newly recorded species are also provided.

The present study is based on the material collected from Alborz and Guilan provinces of Iran during March to November 2010 and 2011. Three species of the genus Platylabus Wesmael were collected and identified, of which Platylabus orbitalis (Gravenhorst, 1829) (Hym.: Ichneumonidae: Ichneumoninae, Platylabini) is newly recorded from Iran and the Middle East region. This study increases the number of known Iranian species of the tribe Platylabini and genus Platylabus to 12 and 5 species, respectively. An identification key to Iranian Platylabus, as well as a brief description and diagnostic characters of the new record species is provided.

A survey was conducted to identify the parasitic wasps of the subfamily Campoleginae (Hym.: Ichneumonidae) in Fars province (southern Iran) during February 2011 – August 2013. Specimens were collected using Malaise traps and sweeping nets. Two new record species of the genus Cymodusa (Ichneumonidae, Campopleginae) were identified: C. longiterebra Dbar, 1985 and C. australis (Smits van Burgst, 1913). An identification key, morphological diagnosis and geographical distribution of Iranian Cymodusa are provided.

In this research 52 species of bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) have been reported from the northeastern Fars province, of which the species of Hylaeus punctus Förster and Hoplitis leucomelana Kirby were new records for Iran fauna. Among the material examined, there were 11 species of Apidae, 19 species of Halictidae, 1 species of Andrenidae, 4 species of Colletidae and 17 species of Megachilidae. Phoretic mites belonging to four genera Parapygmephorus, Vidia, Imparipes and Anoetus were associated with halictid and meghachilid bees. Among associated mites with collected bees Imparipes burgeri Ebermann & Jagersbacher-Baumann belonging to the family Scutacaridae was new for Iran fauna and Asia. We also collected five new mite species for science. These species were belong to the genera Parapygmephorus (1 species), Vidia (1 species), and Anoetus (3 species) of the families Neopygmephoridae, Winterschmidtiidae and Anoetidae respectively that will be described elsewhere. All specimens are deposited in the “Collection of Iranian Pollinator Insects” of Yasouj University.

A survey was conducted to determine the species of the genus Lissonota Gravenhorst, 1829 in two Iranian southern provinces of Fars and Hormozgan from February 2011 through August 2013. Six species were identified of which five species are recorded for the first time from Iran. The newly recorded species are as follows: Lissonota bivittata Gravenhorst, 1829, L. clypeator Gravenhorst, 1820, L. impressor Gravenhorst, 1829,
L. pimplator (Zetterstedt, 1838) and L. proxima Fonscolombe, 1854. An updated checklist of Iranian Lissonota species is presented.

In this study, the mite Acinogaster microchaetosus (Sevastianov, 1967) (Acari: Heterostigmata: Neopygmephoridae) associated with Tetramorium sp. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is redescribed based on material recovered from northern forests of Iran. It is first record of the genus Acinogaster from Asia including Iran. Distribution and host range of all 11 species of the genus is reviewed.

A survey was conducted to study the fauna of the subfamily Ophioninae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) in southern Iranian provinces of Fars and Hormozgan. The specimens were collected using Malaise traps, light traps and sweep nets from a variety different habitats between 2011 and 2013. A total of twelve species of three genera (Enicospilus Stephens; Ophion Fabricius and Eremotylus Forster) were identified, of which the five species Enicospilus flavocephalus (Kirby), E. merdarius (Holmgren), E. monostigmata (Vollenhoven), E. ramidulus (L.) and Eremotylus sibiricus Szépligeti are newly recorded from Iran. This work raise the number of ophionines of Iran to 26 species and four genera. A key to the Iranian genera and species of Ophioninae is provided.

The subfamily Cremastinae Förster, 1869 (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) was studied in Fars and Hormozgan provinces (southern Iran). The specimens were collected using Malaise traps and sweeping nets. Nine species were identified of which two species including Temelucha afghana Šedivý, 1968 and Temelucha confluens (Gravenhorst, 1829) are new records for the fauna of Iran. With result of this study, the number of Cremastinae species known from Iran has increased to 24 species in six genera. An identification key to Iranian Cremastinae is provided, as well as a morphological diagnosis for the newly recorded species.

The mite Acarophenax sphindi Rahiminejad & Hajiqanbar sp. nov. (Acari: Heterostigmata) collected under head of the host beetle, Sphindus sp. (Coleoptera: Sphindidae) is described and illustrated from Oak forests of Golestan province, northern Iran. It is first record of the beetle family Sphindidae (Col.: Cucujoidea) as an acarophenacid host. Moreover, host range of the genus is reviewed and a key to world species of the genus Acarophenax Newstead & Duvall, 1918, is provided.

The subfamily Metopiinae was taxonomically studied in Fars and Hormozgan provinces during 2011–2013. The specimens were collected by using Malaise traps and sweep net. Five species were collected and identified, of which three species are recorded for the first time from Iran: Colpotrochia cincta (Scopoli, 1763), Exochus suborbitalis Schmiedeknecht, 1924, and Metopius (Peltocarus) turcestanicus Clement, 1930. An identification key to the species and an updating checklist of Metopiinae of Iran, as well as zoogeographical notes are provided.

The pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) is one of the most important pests of pea throughout the world.Host stage preference under choice and no-choice tests and age-specific functional response of Praon volucre (Haliday) parasitizing A. pisum were investigated. The experiments were carried out under laboratory conditions at 25 ± 1 °C, 60 ± 5% RH and a photoperiod of 14: 10 h (L: D). Functional response of P. volucre was evaluated in adult lifetime at seven host densities (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 and 128). Praon volucre strongly preferred to oviposit into first and second instar nymphs in both choice and no-choice conditions. Parameter estimation of logistic regression revealed type III functional response for P. volucre in first and second days and type II from third to the end of parasitoid lifetime. The handling time (Th) and searching efficiency (a or b) were estimated using the Rogers equation. The shortest and longest handling times were at fourth day (Th = 0.19 ± 0.04) and 8th day (Th = 0.94 ± 0.15), respectively. The highest searching efficiency (a) was 0.048 ± 0.007 h-1 on third day and lowest searching efficiency was observed at the end of parasitoid lifetime (6th day-8th days). The maximum attack rate ranged from 126.31 nymphs/24 h on fourth day to 25.53 nymphs/24 h on 8th day. The results of this study revealed that the age of adult parasitoid can change the functional response from type III to type II, indicating that this factor may contribute to stabilization of parasitoid–prey dynamics.

A survey to study of mites associated with pomegranate in Mahvelat region, Khorasan Razavi province, northeastern Iran, in 2013 led to find three species of the superfamily Pygmephoroidea (Acari: Prostigmata: Heterostigmata) new to mite fauna of Asia. The materials have been collected from soil samples. These three species belong to three families of the mentioned superfamily as follows: Premicrodispus longicaudus Khaustov, 2006 (Microdispidae), Kerdabania variabilis Khaustov, 2009 (Neopygme-phoridae), Neositeroptes opacus Livshits, Mitrovanov & Sharonov, 1986 (Pygmephor-idae). A key to Iranian Pygmephoroidea (excluding Scutacaridae) recovered from soil samples is provided.

The mite species Archidispus esfarayenicus Hajiqanbar & Khaustov sp. nov. (Acari: Heterostigmatina: Scutacaridae) detached from under elytra of a carabid beetle, Elaphropus (Tachyura) diabrachys (Kolenati, 1845) (Coleoptera: Carabidae), is described and illustrated from Iran. The new species is distinguishable from congeners by the characteristically modified setae 1a, dilated thoroughly with an apical thorn. This is the first record of the genus Archidispus from Iran.