Discovery of the genus Mirodryinus Ponomarenko, 1972 (Hymenoptera, Chrysidoidea, Dryinidae) associated with salt cedar trees in the eastern part of Iran

Abstract

Various species of Tamarix grow in different parts of Iran. Among them, some species are associated with wetlands and salty soils. The studied area is that around Hamoon Lake (Sistan and Baluchestan Province), including habitats dominated by some species of salt cedar trees (Tamarix spp.). Tamarix species have extraordinary biological features and adaptive capabilities to wetlands and salty soils (Fornasari, 2004). Insects from different orders have been known in association with Tamarix species as a primary trophic level (Fornasari, 1998;Wiesenborn, 2005). Among the associated arthropods, a moderately well-defined assemblage of leafhoppers was recorded feeding on Tamarix species (Virla et al., 2010;Sher and Quigley, 2013;Mozaffarian and Wilson, 2016).Wasps of the family Dryinidae (Hymenoptera, Chrysidoidea) are known as natural enemies of leafhoppers, planthoppers, and treehoppers (Hemiptera, Auchenorrhyncha) (Guglielmino et al., 2013). While many species of leafhoppers are recorded from Iran Wilson, 2011, 2016), very few species of dryinids are documented. According to the most recent revisions of the Eastern (Olmi and Xu, 2015) and Western (Olmi, 1999) Palearctic regions, only six dryinid species are recorded from Iran. Recent surveys revealed additional dryinids from Iran including new taxa (Derafshan et al., 2016). In the most recent paper (Derafshan et al., 2016), a new species of the family Dryinidae (Dryinus tamaricicola Rakhshani &

New records of Dryinidae Haliday, 1833 (Hymenoptera, Chrysidoidea) from Iran

“…Few studies have been conducted on the Dryinidae fauna of Iran, with most of the papers restricted to descriptions of species collected sporadically (Olmi 1984Olmi & Xu 2015). Before the present study, three subfamilies (Bocchinae, Dryininae and Gonatopodinae), five genera (Dryinus, Echthrodelphax R. Perkins, 1903, Gonatopus Ljungh, 1810, Haplogonatopus R. Perkins, 1905 and twelve species were known from Iran (Derafshan et al 2016(Derafshan et al , 2017(Derafshan et al , 2020. With the new records reported herein the totals are increased to five subfamilies (Fig.…”

“…The family Dryinidae has remained insufficiently known in Iran, due to the lack of sampling. The few known details about the Dryinidae of Iran refer to studies and descriptions of new species by Derafshan et al (2016Derafshan et al ( , 2017Derafshan et al ( , 2020 in the eastern part of the country. Our investigations in the central, North-Eastern and South-Eastern parts of Iran, during 2015-2018, resulted in the first country records of five species representing three genera and two subfamilies records and increased the number of known Dryinidae from 12 to 17 species.…”

A new species of Anteon (Hymenoptera, Dryinidae) from Turkey

“…Species that have been recorded from only one country or region are expected to be found in other regions in future. (Derafshan et al 2016(Derafshan et al , 2017(Derafshan et al , 2020(Derafshan et al , 2021 are trying to fill this gap. However, the work is hard, since the Middle East covers wide range and the number of involved researchers is too small.…”

Family Ismaridae Thomson (Hymenoptera, Diaprioidea), new to fauna of Iran

“…Occurrence of Dryinidae in other parts of Iran (Derafshan et al . , ), as well as in the adjacent countries (Olmi & van Harten ; Olmi & Xu ; Xu et al . ) favor occurrence of Ismaridae in more expanded areas.…”