Curculionids (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Biodiversity in the Sugar Beet Fields of Khorasan-e- Razavi Province with a New Record for the Fauna of Iran

Species diversity and abundance of curculionids associated with sugar beet fields were surveyed in Khorasan-e-Razavi province in 2009 and 2010. Based on the species richness and their relative abundance, Shannon-Wiener index of biodiversity was calculated for Chenaran region in two years. The value of biodiversity index was the highest in middle of June until late July for both years. In this study, the two species, Adosomus strabus and Lixus incanscens with relative abundance of 17.11 and 14.41 %, respectively, were dominant species in the study area. Among the identified curculionid species, Stephanocleonus (Coniocleonus) vittiger (Fahraeus, 1842) was new to the fauna of Iran and Menecleonus lagopus (Fahraeus, 1842),Conorhynchus kindermanni Faust, 1904 and Tanymecus palliates (Fabricius, 1787) were new records for Khorasan-e-Razavi province. In this study, the number of weevil species associated with sugar beet fields in Iran increased to 53 species.