Seed beetles (Col. Bruchidae) and their new hosts in rangelands of Qazvin province of Iran

Seed-eating insects are the important factors affecting seed viability and the seed germination percentage of rangeland plants. These pests in nature and warehouses, diploid seed contents and by destroying their embryos reduce germination power and seed viability of plant seeds. This study was conducted from 2010-2011 in the rangelands of Qazvin province and areas that were less prone to degradation and grazing. Sampling was carried out from the late April to the late October from the beginning of flowering phase to the end of seeding Leguminosae plants in the selected stations.In this study, 500 seed samples were collected, identified as 44 species of Legumes (the family Fabaceae) invluding 20 species of Astragalus And 24 species of Range Legumes (except Astragalus). Twenty plant species from the collected samples had no sign of damage. sixteen plant species of the five genera of Legume (Fabaceae) are reported as the new host of Bruchinae beetles in the world as follows:Astragalus ammodendroides Bornm Ex Rech. f; A. askius Bunge; A. avicennicus Parsa.; A. brachydontus Bioss.; A. campylorrhynchus Fischer & C.A. May; A. nervistipulus Boiss; .....The beetles identified in this study, belong to the genera Bruchidius, Palaeobruchidius and Paleoacanthoscelides. They are listed as follows:Bruchidius astragali (Boheman, 1829); B. fulvicornis (Motschulsky, 1874); B. glycyrrhizae (Gyllenhal, 1839); B. lutescens (Blanchard, 1844); B. poecilus (Germar, 1824); B. pusillus (Germar, 1824); B. tibialis (Boheman, 1829); B. virgatus (Fahraeus, 1839); Palaeobruchidius plagiatus (Reiche & Saulcy, 1857); Paleoacanthoscelides gilvus (Gyllenhal, 1839)