about 1.4% and 2.3% of all described organisms and insects, respectively. Almost all
ichneumonids are parasitoids. Ichneumonids parasitize holometabolous insects and
less commonly egg sacs and adults of spiders. Ichneumonidae wasps represent
different life strategies in their life history, endoparasitism and ectoparasitism,
koinobiosis and idibiosis, solitary and gregarious, primary and secondary (Hyperparasitism) (Quicke et al. 2009).
7.5 The Superfamily Ichneumonoidea
7.5.1 Basic Research on the Superfamily Ichneumonoidea
Ichneumonoidea distributed universally and can be found in all ecosystems. The
greatest diversity of most subfamilies of Ichneumonoidea is in the northern hemisphere where Iran is located. So far, 780 species in 141 genera and 26 subfamilies of
Braconidae and over 502 species of 189 genera and 26 subfamilies of
Ichneumonidae have been recorded from Iran (Barahoei et al. 2012; Farahani et al.
2016). Comparing the ichneumonoid fauna of Iran with some of its well-studied
neighbour countries like Russia and Turkey shows that the actual number of species
of these two large families in Iran will certainly increase by future studies. Also,
most species of ichneumonoids have been reported from the northern part of Iran
where most research centers are located. During the recent decade, extensive and
long-term samplings were carried out in different regions of Iran to identify regional
assemblages of Braconidae and Ichneumonidae (Ameri et al. 2014; Farahani and
Talebi 2012; Mohammadi-Khoramabadi et al. 2016a, 2016b; MohammadiKhoramabadi et al. 2013). These studies substantially increased our knowledge of
the diversity, phenology and flight period of the parasitoid wasps of the two large
families in Iran.
The first step toward understanding the role of ichneumonoid parasitoids in
agricultural ecosystems is collecting and identifying the parasitoid assemblages
within and around crop fields. In alfalfa fields of Khorasan in the northeast of Iran,
2 years of sampling conducted by Barahoei et al. (2014) showed that 26 species of
25 genera and 12 subfamilies of Ichneumonidae were present.
Rearing is an accurate method for determining the host-parasitoid relationships
and assessment of the rate of parasitism of Ichneumonoidea. Many studies have been
conducted in Iran to the rear and evaluate the parasitism rate of ichneumonoids on
their hosts. Such studies have been focused on major pests of crops, fruit trees and
forest pests. Three lists of known ichneumonoid (Braconidae and Ichneumonidae)
parasitoids of major pests in Iran are presented in Tables 7.5, 7.6 and 7.7.
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H. Lotfalizadeh and A. Mohammadi-Khoramabadi
ichneumonids are parasitoids. Ichneumonids parasitize holometabolous insects and
less commonly egg sacs and adults of spiders. Ichneumonidae wasps represent
different life strategies in their life history, endoparasitism and ectoparasitism,
koinobiosis and idibiosis, solitary and gregarious, primary and secondary (Hyperparasitism) (Quicke et al. 2009).
7.5 The Superfamily Ichneumonoidea
7.5.1 Basic Research on the Superfamily Ichneumonoidea
Ichneumonoidea distributed universally and can be found in all ecosystems. The
greatest diversity of most subfamilies of Ichneumonoidea is in the northern hemisphere where Iran is located. So far, 780 species in 141 genera and 26 subfamilies of
Braconidae and over 502 species of 189 genera and 26 subfamilies of
Ichneumonidae have been recorded from Iran (Barahoei et al. 2012; Farahani et al.
2016). Comparing the ichneumonoid fauna of Iran with some of its well-studied
neighbour countries like Russia and Turkey shows that the actual number of species
of these two large families in Iran will certainly increase by future studies. Also,
most species of ichneumonoids have been reported from the northern part of Iran
where most research centers are located. During the recent decade, extensive and
long-term samplings were carried out in different regions of Iran to identify regional
assemblages of Braconidae and Ichneumonidae (Ameri et al. 2014; Farahani and
Talebi 2012; Mohammadi-Khoramabadi et al. 2016a, 2016b; MohammadiKhoramabadi et al. 2013). These studies substantially increased our knowledge of
the diversity, phenology and flight period of the parasitoid wasps of the two large
families in Iran.
The first step toward understanding the role of ichneumonoid parasitoids in
agricultural ecosystems is collecting and identifying the parasitoid assemblages
within and around crop fields. In alfalfa fields of Khorasan in the northeast of Iran,
2 years of sampling conducted by Barahoei et al. (2014) showed that 26 species of
25 genera and 12 subfamilies of Ichneumonidae were present.
Rearing is an accurate method for determining the host-parasitoid relationships
and assessment of the rate of parasitism of Ichneumonoidea. Many studies have been
conducted in Iran to the rear and evaluate the parasitism rate of ichneumonoids on
their hosts. Such studies have been focused on major pests of crops, fruit trees and
forest pests. Three lists of known ichneumonoid (Braconidae and Ichneumonidae)
parasitoids of major pests in Iran are presented in Tables 7.5, 7.6 and 7.7.
250
H. Lotfalizadeh and A. Mohammadi-Khoramabadi