اولین گزارش زنبور پارازیتوئید Meloboris pseudocollector (Hym.: Ichneumonidae, Campopleginae) از ایران

Meloboris Holmgren, 1859 is a small genus in subfamily Campopleginae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) including 29 species with almost global distribution, mainly in the Western Palearctic and the Nearctic regions. Until now, only three species have been reported from Iran: M. collector (Thunberg, 1822) from Kerman province, M. alternans (Gravenhorst, 1829) from Mazandaran province and M. pektusana Vas, 2023 from Guilan province. In this study, the subfamily Campopleginae was investigated in two surveys: one using Malaise trapping in North central Iran and another using sweeping net in North Khorasan and Razavi Khorasan provinces. Meloboris pseudocollector Haraldseide, 2021 is recorded for the first time from Iran (Alborz province), and additional provincial records of M. collector are presented. Meloboris pseudocollector was collected using Malaise trap installed in Alborz province, Chalous Road, Shahrestanak (35°58′16.26″ N, 51°21′25.80″ E, 2225m a. s. l., 1♀) on 18–24 August 2010. Additionally, M. collector is reported from Alborz, Guilan, Mazandaran, Qazvin, Tehran, Northern Khorasan and Razavi Khorasan provinces. All voucher specimens have been deposited at Tarbiat Modares University Collection (TMUC). Meloboris pseudocollector is characterized by the following combination of characters: body length 4.2 mm, areolet sessile, posterior transverse carina of mesosternum missing ventrally or interrupted in front of middle coxa, area superomedia 1.5 times as long as wide, glymmae present but small, hind femur red, hind tibia darkened basally and apically, without basal bright spot. This species was described and recorded only from Norway. No data was documented on the biology of this species, but other species of the genus Meloboris with known biology are koinobiont endoparasitoids on larvae of various Lepidoptera families such as Gelechidae, Noctuidae, Elachistidae and Geometridae. Including this report, the number of species of this genus in Iran is now raised to four species. Considering Iran’s highly diverse fauna and flora, more species of Meloboris are expected to be found in the country. Further studies are necessary to understand the biology and distribution of this species in other parts of Iran and its role in natural biological control of its hosts.