Ábrahám Levente (szerk.): Válogatott tanulmányok 13. - Natura Somogyiensis 28. / Miscellanea 13. (Kaposvár, 2016)
Ghahari, H.–Van Achterberg, C.: A contribution to the study of subfamilies Microgastrine and Opiinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from the Arasbaran Biosphere Reserve and vicinity, Northwester Iran
Natura Somogyiensis 28 23-32 Kaposvár, 2016 A contribution to the study of subfamilies Microgastrinae and Opiinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from the Arasbaran Biosphere Reserve and vicinity, Northwestern Iran Hassan Ghahari1 & Cees van Achterberg2 'Department of Plant Protection, Yadegar- e- Imam Khomeini (RAH) Shahre Rey Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran; email: hghahari@yahoo.com department of Terrestrial Zoology, Naturális Biodiversity Center, Postbus 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands, e-mail: c.vanachterberg@xs4all.nl Ghahari, H. & van Achterberg, C.: A contribution to the study of subfamilies Microgastrinae and Opiinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from the Arasbaran Biosphere Reserve and vicinity, Northwestern Iran. Abstract: This paper deals with the fauna of the subfamilies Microgastrinae and Opiinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from the Arasbaran Biosphere Reserve and vicinity (Northwestern Iran). In total 14 species from 7 genera, Apanteles Forster (3 species), Pholetesor Mason (1 species) and Cotesia Cameron (3 species) (Microgastrinae), Biosteres Foerster (1 species), Eurytenes Förster (1 species), Opius Wesmael (3 species) and Phaedrotoma Förster (2 species) (Opiinae) were collected and identified. Apanteles britannicus Wilkinson, 1941 is new record for the fauna of Iran. Keywords: Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae, Opiinae, fauna, Arasbaran, Iran Introduction Microgastrine wasps with 2,230 described species worldwide (Yu et al. 2012, Fernández-Triana et al. 2014), are cosmopolitan and comprising solitary or gregarious koinobiont larval endoparasitoids which attack a wide range of Lepidoptera (Whitfield 1997, Inanq & Beyarslan 1990, Ruohomäki et al. 2013). There are 757 species of Microgastrinae currently known in the Palaearctic region of which 529 are recorded from the western Palaearctic region and 496 from eastern Palaearctic region (Yu et al. 2012; Fernández-Triana et al. 2014). Opiinae with 2000 described species worldwide is one of the largest subfamilies of Braconidae (Yu et al. 2012). The members of this subfamily are solitary koinobiont endoparasitoids of larvae of cyclorraphous Diptera, but oviposition may take place in the egg of the hosts (egg-larval parasitoids) (Wharton 1984, 1997). Arasbaran (38°40' to 39°08’N; 46°39' to 47°02’E) where its elevation (meters above sea level) is +250 to +2,887, is situated in the north of Iran at the border to Armenia and Azerbaijan and belongs to the Caucasus Iranian Highlands (Fig. 1). In between the Caspian, Caucasus and Mediterranean region, the area covers mountains up to 2200
