Identification of parasitoid wasps of Scale insects (Chalcidoidea) in fruit orchards of Markazi province

The scale insects of the superfamily Coccoidea are among the most important and harmful pests of fruit trees in Iran. In order to collect and identify parasitoid wasps of Coccoidea, a two-year of sampling was carried out during 2015-2016 in Markazi province. The parasitoid wasps were reared from of scale insects and then were collected daily and preserved in 75% alcohol. The results showed that 10 species of parasitoid wasps belonging to 7 genera from 3 families had parasitism activity on Scale insects. Of them, 3 species were reported for the first time from Iran which are marked with asterisk. Identified species of parasitoid wasps are as follows: Encyrtidae: Blastothrix sericea Dalman, 1820; B. truncatipennis (Ferriere, 1955)*; Habrolepis pascuorum Mercet, 1921; Microterys darevskii Trjapitzin, 1968; M. tricoloricornis De Stefani, 1886; Aphelinidae: Aphytis chrysomphali (Mercet, 1912); Coccophagus piceae Erdos, 1956; Pteroptrix dimidiata Westwood, 1833*; P. opaca Erdos, 1956*; Pteromalidae: Pachyneuron muscarum (Linnaeus, 1758).