Abstract. Water ferns (Azolla spp., Azollaceae) are reported for the first time as host plants for the larvae of the small China-mark moth Cataclysta lemnata (Linnaeus) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae: Acentropinae) in rice fields and waterways of northern Iran. Cataclysta lemnata is a semi-aquatic species that has been recorded to feed on Lemnaceae and a few other aquatic plants. However, it has not been reported before on Azolla spp. Larvae use water fern as food source and shelter and, at high population density in the laboratory, they completely wiped water fern from the water surface. Feeding was confirmed after rearing more than eight continual generations of C. lemnata on water fern in the laboratory. Adults obtained this way are darker and have darker fuscous markings in both sexes compared with specimens previously reported and the pattern remains unchanged after several generations.

During a survey at the Rice Research Institute of Iran (RRII, Rasht, Guilan) for potential biocontrol agents of water fern, Azolla filiculoides Lam. (Pteridophyta: Azollaceae), larvae of Diasemiopsis ramburialis (Duponchel) (Pyralidae s. l., Spilomelinae) were discovered feeding on water fern. Larvae were found to cause serious feeding damage on leaves of water fern in the laboratory. The biology, life cycle, and the morphology of all stages of this species are described and illustrated for the first time. This is also the first record of this cosmopolitan species in Iran. We report water fern as a host for Diasemiopsis ramburialis; until now the host plant of D. ramburialis was unknown.

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While testing the efficacy of herbicides on paddy weeds at the Rice Research Institute of Iran (RRII) in 2008, we encountered the failure of arrowhead (Sagittaria sagittifolia L., Alismataceae) seeds to germinate. Detailed investigation revealed physical damage of seeds caused by the larvae of Gynnido-morpha permixtana (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) (Tortricidae, Tortricinae, Cochylina). Further studies showed that larvae feed on the seeds and flowers of the host plant and destroy the achenes. Under laboratory conditions G. permixtana required 23-30 days to complete its life cycle. Arrowhead is a new host record for this moth species; furthermore, this is the first detailed record of a tortricid feeding on this plant.