Journal of Entomological Society of Iran
Year:2020 | Volume:40 | Issue:2|Papers Count:9

This paper provides a report on Dolichurinae (Hymenoptera: Ampulicidae) collected from different locations of southern Kerman province in southeast Iran from March to September 2017. In the present study, the genus Dolichurus latreille, 1809 (Hymenoptera: Ampulicidae: Dolichurinae) and two species, Dolichurus haemorrhous A. Costa, 1886 and D. corniculus Spinola, 1808 are recorded from Iran for the first time. Morphological remarks and illustrations of the newly recorded species are provided.

Dubas bug, Ommatissus lybicus Bergevin (1930), is one of the key pests of date palms in Iran, which drastically reduces the quality and quantity of dates produced. The Present study aimed to determine economic injury level of O. lybicus on two commercial date cultivars in three main date palm growing provinces of southern Iran. The economic injury level of dubas bug on date palm was estimated by Pedigo method. A date palm grove infested by dubas bug was chosen in Kerman (Bam), Fars (Farashband), and Bushehr (Tang-e Zard) provinces. The study was conducted in randomized complete block design with seven treatments replicated three times. Each experimental unit consisted of three identical trees in which the sampling was performed on the middle tree. We reached the intended densities of O. lybicus using natural and artificial infestation by using insecticides. The assessment was made based on the weekly recording the number of nymphs and honey droplets. In addition, the total weight of the harvested date was determined at harvesting. The results showed that EIL based on the number of nymphs/leaflet of date palm leaf on Zahedi cultivar were 1. 06 and 0. 34 nymphs for Farashband, respectively, and 0. 28 and 0. 88 nymphs for Tang-e Zard in studied years. The values for Bam on Mazafati cultivar in the three consecutive years of 2013, 2014 and, 2015 were 0. 27, 0. 25, and 0. 10 nymphs, respectively.

This study was conducted to investigate the ability of bees to consume starch as a substitute for nectar and influence a commercial probiotic namely Protexin® on starch absorption. In the first experiment, 36 honey bee hives were randomly allocated into six similar groups and fed using one of the diets, first group received sugar syrup as control treatment, second group received sugar syrup supplemented with 1 g/L of Protexin® (P), third group received sugar syrup supplemented with 10% of the starch (S10), fourth group fed using sugar syrup supplemented with 20% of the starch (S20), fifth group received sugar syrup supplemented with 10% starch and one g/L of Protexin® (S10P) and sixth group fed using sugar syrup supplemented with 20% of starch and one g/L of Protexin® (S20P). In the second experiment, newly emerged worker bees were kept in laboratory cages and fed using the above-mentioned experimental treatments for 21 days (at 34 ± 1 ˚ C and 50% R. H. ). At the end of both experiments, 100 worker bees from each treatment were selected to evaluate the starch absorption, the microbial population at the bee’ s digestive tract, body weight, body protein, and lipid content. The results indicated that the starch absorption in the colonies fed by S20P treatment was significantly higher than that in the rest of the treated colonies (P≤ 0. 05). The supplementation of diet with starch significantly enhanced their body weight, protein, and lipid content in both of the experiments (P≤ 0. 05). Moreover, Protexin® increased the bee’ s gut microbial population at colony and cage conditions (P≤ 0. 05). It is concluded that the dietary supplementation of the corn starch and Protexin® could have a beneficial effect on the health and strength of the bee colonies.

The egg structures of eight Dioctria species known in Turkey, i. e., D. abdominalis, D. arcana, D. cornuta, D. flavipennis, D. hermonensis, D. linearis, D. sudetica, D. valida were examined and described in detail, using the scanning electron microscope (SEM). The material was collected from various habitats such as watersides, forest areas and crop fields within Adana, Aksaray, Mersin, Nigde, Karaman and Konya provinces between 2006 and 2007. Dioctria eggs are characterized as: 1) ovoid in shape and brown in color; 2) operculum at the anterior pole of the egg; 3) one or two micropyles at the center of the operculum; 4) aeropyles scattered in the body region and operculum or only in the former. The eggs were photographed to provide useful information to the systematics of Dioctria genus.

The Mediterranean flour moth, Ephestia kuehniella (Zeller) and the cowpea weevil, Callosobruchus maculatus (Fabricius) rank among the most destructive pests in food processing facilities worldwide. Ephestia kuehniella and C. maculatus may live in the same store simultaneously. To provide a comprehensive ecological based and cost effective control program, the life history and demographic parameters of the both stored product pests were studied at 25 ± 1° C, 60 ± 5% RH, and 16L: 8D hours photoperiod. Moreover, population growth potential of the pests compared based on population projection. Life history and demographic parameters of both pests were analyzed using the age-stage, two-sex life table theory. The results revealed that E. kuehniella had longer immature developmental time, shorter adult longevity, shorter reproduction period, higher fecundity, higher net reproduction rate, and lower intrinsic rate of increase in comparison with the cowpea weevil. The obtained results have been discussed in terms of developing appropriate management strategies against both pests in the storage.

During recent decades, one of the most important methods of replacing synthetic pesticides is using of new formulations based on plant essential oils (EOs) that can improve their quality and effectiveness. Due to restrictions in application of EOs in pure form, preparation of their commercial formulations is essential. In this research, the contact toxicity of fifteen different plant EOs on 1st instar nymphs of Phenacoccus solenopsis was examined at 25± 1° C, 65± 5% RH, and a photoperiod of 16: 8 h = L: D. Three EOs including; Mentha longifolia (L. ), Mentha piperita (L. ), and Oliveria decumbens (Vent. ) had the highest contact toxicity and were considered for the next experiments. According to GC and GC/MS analysis, pulegone (51. 49%), menthone (22. 75%), and 1, 8-cineole (11. 69%) were the principal components of M. longifolia; menthone (36. 51%), menthene (28. 51%), menthol (8. 12%), and 1, 8-cineole (7. 66%) were the principal components of M. piperita and the main components of O. decumbens EO were thymol (43. 99%), γ-terpinene (13. 96%), and p-cymene (12. 62%). Moreover, contact toxicity of the EOs were evaluated on 1st instar nymphs of P. solenopsis under laboratory conditions, before and after formulation. Based on lethal concentration trials, LC50 values of pure and formulated EOs of M. longifolia, M. piperita, and O. decumbens on 1st instar nymphs were 113. 49, 129. 74, 149. 93, and 48. 22, 55. 55, 61. 68 ppm, respectively; after 48 hours. Therefore, the contact toxicity of formulated EOs of M. longifolia, M. piperita, and O. decumbens were 2. 34, 2. 36, and 2. 43-fold higher than the pure EOs. Based on physicochemical trials, the prepared formulations were stable under the experimental conditions. Therefore, formulation of EOs of examined plants can be considered as new environmentally friend pesticides for controlling of the pests.

The morphology of internal genital tubes in 52 species of water scavenger beetles (Col., Hydrophilidae) are investigated based on personal observation of 22 species and collecting data of formerly published studies of 30 species. In males, morphological differences are observed in generic level and in the structures of the testes. In females, morphological variations are detected in several features in different taxonomic levels: 1. connection position of spermathecal duct to bursa copulatrix, 2. length of spermathecal duct, 3. size and shape of spermathecal gland, 4. size and shape of spermathecal bulb, 5. connection of spermatheca and spermathecal gland with spermathecal bulb, and 6. presence or absence of sclerotized spine inside the membranous wall of the bursa. The length of the spermathecal duct is highly variable across the species, while, the connections of the spermathecal duct and gland with the bulb remain constant in tribe or subfamily level. The importance of using the female genital tube characters in phylogenetic analysis is discussed along with investigating the CI and RI of the genital characters of Sternolophus species in a data set of its morphological characters.

Up to now, five species of Tenothrips namely, T. discolor (Karny), T. frici (Uzel), T. hispanicus (Bagnall), T. latoides (Pelikan) and T. reichardti (Priesner) have been recorded from Iran (Afsharizadeh Bami & Minaei, 2020). In this report, another species of the genus is recorded for the first time from this country. Thrips specimens were mounted onto slides in Hoyer’ s medium using the protocol given by Mound & Kibby (1998). Photomicrographs were made using an Olympus BX51 phase-contrast microscope with DP27 digital camera and cellSens software. The specimen is deposited in the Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran...

Adult wasps (Hymenoptera: Figitidae) emerged from the harvested sugar beet roots from the farmlands of the Hamedan province in October 2019. The figitid wasps appeared in rearing containers from the late October to early November, in a period of 7-18 days. Species of the wasps was determined as Rhoptromeris heptoma (Hartig, 1840) by the third author of the report. Primary determination was later confirmed by Dr. Mattias Forshage. The genus and species are new records for the fauna of Iran...