Hyssopus geniculatus (Hartig) (Hymenoptera, Eulophidae) a parasitoid of Anarsia eleagnella Kuznetsov (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae) in Iran

Abstract

Through a survey conducted in West Azarbaijan province, northwestern Iran in 2022, infested fruits of Elaeagnus angustifolia L. (Elaeagnaceae) were collected. Anarsia eleagnella Kuznetsov, 1957 (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) was obtained from laboratory rearing. A parasitic wasp was collected in the rearing container that was identified under Hyssopus geniculatus (Hartig, 1838) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). This parasitoid is a primary ectoparasitoid and a new record of H. geniculatus on A. eleagnella. Also, the association of H. geniculatus with E. angustifolia and the family Elaeagnaceae is new. Notes on the diagnostic characters of H. geniculatus are provided and illustrations of A. eleagnella and H. geniculatus are presented. The feeding behaviour of A. eleagnella larvae is preliminarily studied. Finally, the colour variations of the collected H. geniculatus specimens compared to the published literature are discussed.