Annotated checklist of Pteromalidae (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea) in the Middle East and North Africa

Abstract

Species of the family Pteromalidae from the Middle East countries are reviewed. A total of 445 species within 134 genera and 17 subfamilies are recorded from 20 countries including Algeria (25 genera, 37 species), Egypt (27 genera, 37 species), Iran (84 genera, 211 species), Iraq (13 genera, 18 species), Israel (34 genera, 53 species), Jordan (8 genera, 9 species), Kuwait (1 genus, 1 species), Lebanon (5 genera, 5 species), Libya (9 genera, 10 species), Morocco (71 genera, 122 species), Oman (3 genera, 5 species), Palestine (5 genera, 5 species), Saudi Arabia (10 genera, 14 species), Syria (11 genera, 15 species), Tunisia (15 genera, 17 species), Turkey (75 genera, 236 species), United Arab Emirates (7 genera, 7 species), Yemen (27 genera, 45 species). There are no published records from Pteromalidae from Bahrain and Qatar. On the basis of the new findings in this study, 22 species in 15 genera are collected and identified from various regions of Iran. Among them, the genera Blascoa Askew, 1997 and Plutothrix Förster, 1856 and three species, Blascoa ephedrae Askew, 1997, Plutothrix trifasciata (Thomson, 1878 and Homoporus pulchripes Erdös, 1953 are newly recorded for the fauna of Iran, the genus Blascoa Askew and three species are new for the Middle East fauna. Biogeographically, the species of Pteromalidae recorded from the Middle East are widely distributed in the Western Palaearctic region. Of which, 268 species were found only throughout the Palaearctic with no records from other regions. Among the countries of the Middle East, the highest percentage of endemism for Pteromalidae species were found in Turkey (56 species, 12.6%) and Yemen (25 species, 5.6%), later country representing the fauna of both Palaearctic and Afrotropical regions. The distribution in the Middle East and zoogeographical distribution For each species are presented.

Pachyneuron (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) and its relationship to ladybirds (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae): new data from Iran and review of the literature

“…However, more parasitoid species can potentially hyperparasitize Coccinellidae in this region, including some other members of Pachyneuron. In addition to P. muscarum, there are two other species of Pachyneuron reported by Rahmani et al (2022) as occurring in Iran that are known for their association with ladybirds. These are P. aphidis and P. solitarium (Table 2).…”

“…The cosmopolitan genus Pachyneuron Walker, 1833 consists of 60 valid species (Noyes 2019), of which 21 have been reported to occur in the Middle East and 13 in Iran (Rahmani et al 2022). Species of Pachyneuron are mostly secondary parasitoids of the hemipterans in the suborder Sternorrhyncha (aphids, coccids and psyllids), but also primary or secondary parasitoids of Diptera (Syrphidae, Chamaemyiidae, Agromyzidae, Chloropidae, Cecidomyiidae), Coleoptera (Coccinellidae) and Neuroptera (Chrysopidae), as well as eggs of Lepidoptera (Gibson 2001 One of the most common and most polyphagous members of this genus is Pachyneuron muscarum Linnaeus, 1758 (syn.…”