Bushgrass, Calamagrostis epigejos (Poaceae), a natural pool of chalcidoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) in Iran

Interactions between herbivorous insects and their parasitoids play a crucial role in plant-insect dynamics in ecosystems. This study, carried out over two years of sampling and rearing in the Soldoz wetland in the northwest of Iran, yielded significant insights into the composition of herbivorous and parasitoid chalcidoid wasps (Chalcidoidea) associated with Bushgrass, Calamagrostis epigejos. The findings revealed a diverse assemblage of species, including three herbivorous chalcidoid wasps: Tetramesa calamagrostidis (Schlechtendal, 1891), T. eximia (Giraud, 1863) and Eurytoma leviuscula Szelenyi, 1976 (Eurytomidae).

It also revealed 19 parasitoid species: Sycophila mellea (Curtis, 1831) (Eurytomidae); Notanisus clavatus Bouček, 1961 (Cleonymidae); Anagyrus aligarhensis Agarwal and Alam, 1959, Asitus sp., Cerchysius subplanus (Dalman, 1820), Homalotylus quaylei Timberlake, 1919 and Mayridia formosula Mercet, 1921 (Encyrtidae); Aprostocetus catius (Walker, 1839), Diaulinopsis albimaxilla Hansson, 2016 and Minotetrastichus treron Graham, 1987 (Eulophidae); Arachnophaga picardi (Bernard, 1936), Calosota metallica (Gahan, 1922) and Eupelmus atropurpureus Dalman, 1820 (Eupelmidae); Homoporus nypsius (Walker, 1839) and Trichomalus campestris (Walker, 1834) (Pteromalidae); Chartocerus kerrichi (Agarwal, 1963) (Signiphoridae); Eridontomerus isosomatis (Riley, 1882), E. sapphyrinus Zerova and Seryogina, 1999 and Erimerus luteus (Bouček, 1954) (Torymidae).

Notably, an undescribed species, Asitus sp., is reported and characterized here for the first time. Additionally, this study presents the first brief description and definitive imagery of the males for four species: A. catius, E. leviuscula, M. formosula and N. clavatus. Furthermore, one genus (Erimerus) and 14 species are reported for the first time for the fauna of Iran, highlighting the ecological significance and biodiversity associated with C. epigejos in this region.