Hölzel (1966) published records of 11 chrysopid species for the fauna of Iran.
One year later, he published a list of Chrysopidae species comprising 23 species and
described their morphological features, presented identification keys and recorded
data on collecting dates as well as localities of each species (Hölzel 1967). A
few years later, Mirmoayedi described two new Chrysopidae species, namely
Anisochrysa mira (Hölzel) and Suarius ressli (Hölzel). In 1982, Hölzel described a
new chrysopid, Suarius laristanus Hölzel, which was collected previously by Ressl
in southern Iran. Aspöck et al. (1980) also worked on Chrysopidae fauna of Iran. In
their book “Die Neuropteren Europas”, Aspöck et al. mentioned four species of
Anisochrysa, six species of Chrysopa, one species of Chrysoperla, and one species
of Suarius as forming part of Chrysopidae fauna of Iran. Asadi (2010) reported
11 species of Chrysopidae including C. dubitans, Chrysopa pallens (Rambur),
C. viridana, Dichochrysa prasina (Burmeister), C. carnea, Chrysoperla kolthoffi
Navas, Chrysoperla lucasina (Lacroix), Chrysoperla sillemi Esben-Petersen,
I. vartianorum, M. derbendica and S. nanus for Kermanshah province. Farahi
et al. (2009) studied different species of Chrysopidae and Hemerobiidae from
northeastern and eastern provinces of Iran and reported 12 species, seven of which
were new for the investigated regions, including one new species for Iran
(Hemerobius stigma Stephens). A brief literature review regarding Chrysopidae
fauna of Iran (from 1961 to 2000) was carried out by Mirmoayedi (2002a).
Mirmoayedi et al. (2014) studied new species of Neuroptera from West
Azerbaijan province. They concluded that between the collected materials, there
were 24 species belonging to six families of the Order Neuroptera and that all the
species (except C. carnea) were recorded for the first time for the fauna of this
province. Six species were new recordings for the fauna of Iran.
Surveys and collections of Iranian Neuroptera fauna have shown that C. carnea is
a dominant species (Heydari 1995; Sharififard and Mossadegh 2006). However,
several reports have indicated that other species such as Chrysopa formosa Brauer
(Daniali et al. 1995; Ghadiri-Rad et al. 2004) and C. lucasina (Farahi et al. 2009;
Kazemi and Mehrnejad 2011) were more abundant than C. carnea in some regions.
It is clear that C. carnea contains several cryptic species comprising the so-called
“carnea group” (Henry 1985; Haruyama et al. 2008). This group includes a complex
of about 20 cryptic species distributed throughout the northern hemisphere and
Afrotropics (Henry et al. 2002). The morphological similarities between species
make it difficult to differentiate among them. The results of studies conducted on
courtship behaviors of the cryptic species in “carnea group” have demonstrated that
the unique courtship song of each cryptic species ensures reproductive isolation
(Wells and Henry 1992; Henry et al. 2002). Therefore, further studies are required to
identify the real species of “carnea complex” in Iran.
The list of Chrysopidae species of Iran is presented as follows:
Anisochrysa amseli (Brauer)
Anisochrysa flavifrons (Brauer)
178
M. Hassanpour et al.
One year later, he published a list of Chrysopidae species comprising 23 species and
described their morphological features, presented identification keys and recorded
data on collecting dates as well as localities of each species (Hölzel 1967). A
few years later, Mirmoayedi described two new Chrysopidae species, namely
Anisochrysa mira (Hölzel) and Suarius ressli (Hölzel). In 1982, Hölzel described a
new chrysopid, Suarius laristanus Hölzel, which was collected previously by Ressl
in southern Iran. Aspöck et al. (1980) also worked on Chrysopidae fauna of Iran. In
their book “Die Neuropteren Europas”, Aspöck et al. mentioned four species of
Anisochrysa, six species of Chrysopa, one species of Chrysoperla, and one species
of Suarius as forming part of Chrysopidae fauna of Iran. Asadi (2010) reported
11 species of Chrysopidae including C. dubitans, Chrysopa pallens (Rambur),
C. viridana, Dichochrysa prasina (Burmeister), C. carnea, Chrysoperla kolthoffi
Navas, Chrysoperla lucasina (Lacroix), Chrysoperla sillemi Esben-Petersen,
I. vartianorum, M. derbendica and S. nanus for Kermanshah province. Farahi
et al. (2009) studied different species of Chrysopidae and Hemerobiidae from
northeastern and eastern provinces of Iran and reported 12 species, seven of which
were new for the investigated regions, including one new species for Iran
(Hemerobius stigma Stephens). A brief literature review regarding Chrysopidae
fauna of Iran (from 1961 to 2000) was carried out by Mirmoayedi (2002a).
Mirmoayedi et al. (2014) studied new species of Neuroptera from West
Azerbaijan province. They concluded that between the collected materials, there
were 24 species belonging to six families of the Order Neuroptera and that all the
species (except C. carnea) were recorded for the first time for the fauna of this
province. Six species were new recordings for the fauna of Iran.
Surveys and collections of Iranian Neuroptera fauna have shown that C. carnea is
a dominant species (Heydari 1995; Sharififard and Mossadegh 2006). However,
several reports have indicated that other species such as Chrysopa formosa Brauer
(Daniali et al. 1995; Ghadiri-Rad et al. 2004) and C. lucasina (Farahi et al. 2009;
Kazemi and Mehrnejad 2011) were more abundant than C. carnea in some regions.
It is clear that C. carnea contains several cryptic species comprising the so-called
“carnea group” (Henry 1985; Haruyama et al. 2008). This group includes a complex
of about 20 cryptic species distributed throughout the northern hemisphere and
Afrotropics (Henry et al. 2002). The morphological similarities between species
make it difficult to differentiate among them. The results of studies conducted on
courtship behaviors of the cryptic species in “carnea group” have demonstrated that
the unique courtship song of each cryptic species ensures reproductive isolation
(Wells and Henry 1992; Henry et al. 2002). Therefore, further studies are required to
identify the real species of “carnea complex” in Iran.
The list of Chrysopidae species of Iran is presented as follows:
Anisochrysa amseli (Brauer)
Anisochrysa flavifrons (Brauer)
178
M. Hassanpour et al.