Seasonal abundance and identification key of Orius spp. (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) in Fars Province

Family Anthocoridae, are as biological control agents in many agroecosystems. The seasonal abundance and distribution of Orius species were determined from different crops, trees, flowers and weeds in Fars province during 2016-2018. In this study Orius  albidipennis (Reuter), Orius laticollis discolor (Reuter), Orius laticollis laticollis (Reuter), Orius  horvathi (Reuter), Orius  minutus (Linnaeus), Orius vicinus (Ribaut), Orius  retamae Noualhier, Orius laevigatus inaequalis*Wagner, Orius laevigatus laevigatus (Fieber), Orius laevigatus maderensis* (Reuter), Orius niger aegyptiacus Wagner, Orius niger niger (Wolff), Orius  piceicollis* (Lindberg) were collected on different 63 host plants from 50 regions in Fars province. Among them the species and subspecies marked with * were new records for Iran. The Simpson diversity indices of Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter seasons were 3.954, 4.082, 3,793 and 1 respectively. Seasonal diversity of Orius spp. In Summer were significantly higher than other seasons. O. niger niger was found to be active throughout the year. The other species of Orius were collected in spring, summer and autumn, O. piceicollis, O. retamae and O. laevigatus inaequalis were only active in summer. O. niger niger and O. albidipennis were the most collected Anthocorid species. From results it is concluded that O. niger niger and O. albidipennis are well adapted to the geographical conditions and plant biodiversity in Fars province. Therefore, they could be considered as biological control agents in fields.