JOURNAL OF INSECT BIODIVERSITY AND SYSTEMATICS
Year:2018 | Volume:4 | Issue:3|Papers Count:7

The family Neanuridae belonging to order Poduromorpha, class Collembola includes terrestrial animals which play vital roles in decomposition and nutrient cycle in soil. Up to now, the fauna of this family has not been investigated in various areas of Golestan national Park (Hyrcanian forests). In order to identifying species of the class Collembola in this park, numerous samplings were carried out from soil, humus, and moss in 2015 and 2016. Then, the Collembola specimens were separated by using Berlese Funnel, stored in 75-85 percent ethyl alcohol and identified according to valid identification keys. Meanwhile, the species Friesea afurcata Tullberg, 1869) from the Neanuridae family is reported for the first time in Iran and Golestan province.

The faunistic study of the family Phoridae carried out in northwestern of Iran during 2013– 2017. Five species (Conicera tibialis Schmitz, 1925, Dohrniphora cornuta (Bigot, 1857), Gymnophora arcuata (Meigen, 1830), Metopina oligoneura (Mik, 1867) and Triphleba intermedia (Malloch, 1908)) are newly recorded from Iran. The genera Conicera Meigen, 1830, Dohrniphora Dahl, 1898, Gymnophora Macquart, 1835 and Triphleba Rondani, 1856 are reported for the first time from the country. Diagnostic characters of the studied species along with their photographs are provided.

The genus Spilomena Shuckard, 1838, is reviewed from the Indian subcontinent. One new species, Spilomena keralaensis Rajan, Sureshan & Girish Kumar sp. nov. is described from the Southern Western Ghats of Kerala and differences from similar species are given.

The fauna of the subfamily Opiinae was studied in northern parts of Iran. A total of eight species including Biosteres rusticus (Haliday, 1837), Phaedrotoma depeculator Foerster, 1862, Phaedrotoma exigua (Wesmael, 1835), Phaedrotoma pulchriventris (Fischer, 1958), Phaedrotoma variegatus (Szepligeti, 1896), Xynobius curtifemur (Fischer, 1961), Xynobius caelatus (Haliday, 1837), and Utetes rotundiventris (Thomson, 1895) were identified of which the four last species are reported for the first time from Iran. A key for identification of the collected species as well as the general distribution of each species either in the world or within Iran has been provided.

This study is aimed to explore the fauna of grasshoppers and locusts (Orthoptera) within the county of Dasht-e Azadegan (Khuzestan Province), where is placed a vast plain with geographical coordinates of 47° 42′ to 48° 28′ E and 31° 24′ to 32° 57′ N. Sampling carried out since March 2015 until end of August 2016 using insect sweeping net and also light torch at eleven selected sites and continued for the duration of all seasons of each year every one month. The collecting sites were selected to cover the whole area in terms of climate, sea level, and vegetation. Referring to morphological identification keys and comparing the result with the type of material deposited at Hayk Mirzayans Insect Museum, out of 1770 specimens, four Families, 11 Subfamilies, 21 genera and 25 species enlisted. Out of which, one genus, and two species were discovered to be new to the fauna of Iran. Based on the yielded statistics, Aiolopus thalassinus is candidates as the most frequent species in the area.

The genus and species, Sinuothrips hasta Collins, was identified based on specimens of both sexes collected from Phragmites and an unkown species of Asteraceae in Fars province. This genus is known previously only from England, Turkey and China. A brief diagnostic characters for the genus and species is provided and illustrated.

The paper presents a compilation of the documented occurrence of the date stone beetle Coccotrypes dactyliperda across the globe. The data presented here have been compiled based on an exhaustive search of academic journal databases, collections presented in research portals and digitised holdings of national libraries. A visualisation of the global distribution shows that the presence of Coccotrypes dactyliperda is circumscribed by climatic factors.