New wasps keep coming: two parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) associated with Haloxylon in Iran
Makaleler > Tam Makale · 2026
Yazarlar: HOSSEIN LOTFALIZADEH, GHOLAMREZA TAVAKOLI-KORGHOND, SAMIRA FARAHANI, GEORGE JAPOSHVILLI, REZA FARSHBAF-POURABAD, TOMÁŠ HOVORKA, JEAN-YVES RASPLUS
Zootaxa, Uluslararası, Wos, 2026, cilt 5793, ss 171-183
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5793.1.7
Özet
The first Iranian species of Copidosoma Ratzeburg, was described in 1970, followed by a second species in 2016. Both species are parasitoids of lepidopterous pests on Pistacia. This study expands the Iranian fauna of this genus through the discovery of a new species, Copidosoma haloxylonae Lotfalizadeh sp. nov., associated with the saxaul tree, Haloxylon ammodendron (C.A. Meyer). Additionally, we report the first record of Psyllaephagus ogazae Sugonjaev for Iran, reared from the same host plant. To contextualize these findings, we provide a comprehensive checklist of all six Iranian Copidosoma species with distribution and biological data, a dichotomous key for their identification, and a redescription of P. ogazae based on Iranian specimens. These results significantly contribute to the understanding of chalcidoid wasp diversity and host associations in arid ecosystems of Iran.