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Attila V. MOLNÁR1*, András MÉSZÁROS2, Chalcididae, whose known hosts encompass Lepidop- András István CSATHÓ3, Gábor BALOGH3 tera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Neuroptera and and Sándor CSŐSZ4 Strepsiptera, are primary parasitoids, but few species are facultative or obligatory hyperparasitoids (Bouček 1982, Lot- 1. Department of Botany, University of Debrecen, falizadeh et al. 2012, Aydoğdu 2014, Lotfalizadeh & Jafari- H-4032 Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, Hungary. 2. Balaton-Upland National Park Directorate, Nadushan 2015). In spite of its high economic importance, H-8229, Csopak, Kossuth utca 16, Hungary. Chalcididae is poorly known in the Middle East; only 61 3. Körös-Maros National Park Directorate, species from Iran (Lotfalizadeh et al. 2012, Kazemi & Lotfali- H-5540, Szarvas, Anna-liget 1, Hungary. 4. MTA-ELTE-MTM, Ecology Research Group, zadeh 2014, Tavakoli Roodi et al. 2016), 41 species from Tur- H-1117 Budapest, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Hungary. key, 31 species from Israel and five species from Iraq are *Corresponding author, A.V. Molnár, E-mail: [email protected] known (Noyes 2017). This communication is the second publication of the au-
thors’ investigation on the Chalcidoidea of Khuzestan prov- ince in South-Western Iran (Moravvej et al. 2016), which ex- On the presence of the subfamily Epitraninae clusively reports a new subfamily for the fauna of Iran, viz. (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea, Chalcididae) Epitraninae of the family Chalcididae. in Iran Collecting and preserving methods were introduced in our first contribution (Moravvej et al. 2016). Terminology The family Chalcididae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) con- follows Bouček (1982). tains five subfamilies (Noyes 2017) only three of which have been reported from Iran (Lotfalizadeh et al. 2012). It contains Systematics 61 species in 16 genera including Chalcidinae with 37.7% of Epitraninae Burks, 1936 species, Dirhininae with 8.2% of species and Haltichellinae Epitraninae includes only the genus Epitranus with 68 nomi- with 54.1% of species (Tavakoli Roodi et al. 2016). nal species (Noyes 2017) which are probably native of the
Figure 1. Female Epitranus clavatus. A. Body, lateral view. B. Head, lateral view. C. Antenna. D. Mesosoma, lateral view. E. Metasoma, lateral view. F. Hind tarsus, indicating carinate sulcus, ventral view. G. Fore wing, dorsal view.
268 Correspondence –Notes
Old World and were introduced to Nearctic and Neotropical Bouček, Z. (1982): Oriental chalcid wasps of the genus Epitranus. Journal of regions (Bouček 1982). The hosts of Epitraninae are also little Natural History 16: 577-622. Kazemi, M.-H., Lotfalizadeh, H. (2014): Hockeria magna Bouček (Hymenoptera: known but records suggest they parasitize lepidopterous Chalcididae): New record to Iranian chalcidid fauna. North-Western Journal pests associated with stored products such as Tineidae and of Zoology 10 (1): 183-186. Pyralidae (Bouček 1982). Lotfalizadeh, H., Ebrahimi, E., Delvare, G. (2012): A contribution to the knowledge of family Chalcididae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) in Iran. Journal of Entomological Society of Iran 31(2): 67-100. Genus Epitranus Walker, 1834 Lotfalizadeh, H., Jafari-Nadushan, A. (2015): New records of two rare species of Epitranus clavatus (Fabricius, 1804) (Figs. 1A-G) the family Chalcididae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) in Iran, with data on Chalcis clavata Fabricius, 1804 their associations. Acta Zoologica Bulgarica 67(2): 297-298. Moravvej, S. A., Shishehbor, P., Lotfalizadeh, H. (2016): A checklist of Epitranus falvescens Walker, 1834 Chalcidoidea (Insecta: Hymenoptera) of Khuzestan in southwestern Iran. Epitranus lacteipennis Cameron, 1883 Journal of Insect Biodiversity and Systematics 2: 121-142. Anacryptus insidiosus Masi, 1917 Noyes, J.S. (2017): Universal Chalcidoidea Database. The Natural History Museum,
Material Examined: Iran, Khuzestan province, Ahwaz, Key words: Epitranus clavatus, Epitraninae, Chamran University campus, July 2017, Yellow pan trap, S. Chalcididae, Iran, new record. A. Moravvej leg., 1 ♀. Deposited in the Insect Collection of Chamran University, Ahwaz. Article No.: e177202 Diagnostic features: Body mainly reddish (Fig. 1A), with Received: 04. August 2017 / Accepted: 19. October 2017 Available online: 29. October 2017 / Printed: December 2018 some slightly dark parts; thorax with regular punctuations (Fig. 1D), without patches of hairs, interspaces finely granu- late or partly obliterated; hind femur with fewer than 15 Seyed Abbas MORAVVEJ1*, Hossein LOTFALIZADEH2 teeth which are relatively broader and less regular than in and Parviz SHISHEHBOR1 albipennis and nitens, hind tibia with strong angulate subba- sal tooth, crenulate under hairs and tarsal sulcus with dis- 1. Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture, Shahid Chamran tinct oblique carina, extending over more than 3/4 up to- University of Ahvaz, Iran. 2. Department of Plant Protection, East-Azarbaijan Agricultural and Natural wards subbasal tooth (Fig. 1F); hind coxae ventrally with Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research, Education very coarse but not very dense punctuations (Fig. 1A); pro- and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tabriz, Iran. podeum dull, with distinct granulate sculpture, also intersti- * Corresponding author, S.A. Moravvej, E-mail: [email protected] ces on thorax (at least partly) and bottoms of punctures with distinct reticulation, propodeal areolae very dull with reticu- lation, but thorax and occiput slightly shiny; in female peti- ole dorsally flattened and only up to 3 times as long as broad First record of pseudoautotomy in the genus (Fig. 1E); forewing hyaline with strongly reduced pilosity Echinanthera (Serpentes: Colubridae) (Fig. 1G), virtually absent below marginal vein, especially not forming any distinct hairline recurrent from stigmal Urotomy (tail breakage) is a singular defensive strategy in vein, venation distinct, pigmented, costal cell about 2 times lepidosaurian reptiles, allowing an individual to lose por- as long as marginal vein. tions or the entirety of its tail during a predator attack, in- Biology of our examined specimens is unknown in Iran, creasing its chances of escape (Arnold 1984). Its more com- but outside it has been recorded from Tinea sp., T. antricola monly known variation is autotomy, which occurs in the Meyrick, T. palaechrysis Meyrick and Crypsithyris sp. (Lepi- tuatara (Sphenodontidae) and in several lineages of lizards; doptera, Tineidae) (Noyes 2017) thus, its hosts seem to be it is characterized by the intravertebral rupture in special- small Lepidoptera, possibly associated with some tropical, ized planes of the tail, with the capacity of spontaneous frac- probably stored products (Bouček 1982). ture and partial regeneration by the development of a carti- Geographical distribution: This species has been recorded laginous rod in the area previously occupied by the osseous from Oriental (India, Malaysia Taiwan), Nearctic (USA) and tissue (Slowinski & Savage 1995, Savage & Slowinski 1996, Neotropical (Brazil, Guyana) regions (Bouček 1982, Noyes Jagnandan et al. 2014). Another form, termed pseudoautot- 2017); this is a new record of species from Iran. Our finding omy by Slowinski & Savage (1995), is diagnosed by the in- of this species from southern part of Iran (Khuzestan) that tervertebral fracture in random portions of the tail, without located between Oriental and Afrotropical regions seems the capacity for spontaneous rupture or regeneration, and ordinary. Bouček (1982) believes this species is native in the present in some snakes and lizards (Etheridge 1967, Arnold Old World tropics, possibly in South Asia, but was 1984, Slowinski & Savage 1995). In this case, since the tail repeatedly introduced to parts of tropical America. rupture is not spontaneous, it depends on external stimuli in order to occur (Savage & Slowinski, 1996). Acknowledgements. We would like thank Research Deputy of Accordingly to Arnold (1984) and Bateman & Fleming Shahid Chamran University for financial help and reviewers for the (2009), pseudoautotomy is a derived character, present in comments on the manuscript. taxons that lost their capacity to realize autotomy. In snakes, References two distinct forms of this behavior are known: specialized Aydoğdu, M. (2014): Parasitoid abundance of Archips rosana (Linnaeus, 1758) pseudoautotomy, in which the rupture is facilitated by the (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in organic cherry orchards. North-Western Journal of Zoology 10(1): 42-47. presence of a long, thick and fragile tail, and non-specialized