| Gall-inducing insects on Seriphidium herba-alba (Asteraceae) in central Iran |
| Paper ID : 1300-3IICE (R1) |
| Authors: |
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Abbas Mohammadi-Khoramabadi *1, Babak Gharali2, Hossin Lotfalizadeh3 1Darab College of Agriculture and Natural Resources 2Department of Plat Protection, Qazvin Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, AREEO, Qazvin, Iran. 3Department of Plant Protection, East -Azarbaijan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research & Education Center, AREEO, Tabriz, Iran |
| Abstract: |
| Gall-inducing insects are known as bioindicator of environmental quality. This study was carried out to identify the gall-inducing assemblage on Seriphidium herba-alba (Asso) J. Soják (Asteraceae) on the outskirts of Taft and Mehriz located in Yazd province between 2012 and 2013. Seriphidium herba-alba is a perennial shrub commonly grown in dry steppes. It is a good fodder for grazing animals and also used in herbal medicine. To collect and identify gall-inducing insects on the plant, different gall types on vegetative parts of this plant were examined and collected for rearing under laboratory condition. Four different types of galls were found to be induced by the following four species of Diptera and Hymenoptera: pitcher-shaped bud galls by Rhopalomyia hispanica Tavares, 1904 (Dip.: Cecidomyiidae); white pubescent stem galls by Rhopalomyia navasi Tavares, 1904 (Dip.: Cecidomyiidae); oval hard-woody stem galls by Eurytoma sp. (Hym.: Eurytomidae) and oval soft-bodied terminal bud galls by Tephritis angulatofasciata Portschinsky, 1891 (Dip.: Tephritidae). Seriphidium herba-alba is the globally first known host for T. angulatofasciata. Our observations showed that these gall-induced species were parasitized by several species of the hymenopteran families Encyrtidae, Eulophidae, Pteromalidae and Torymidae. Their abandoned galls were also used by some inquilines of the family Formicidae and the order Coleoptera. The high diversity of insects associated with the gall-inducing insects on S. herba-alba underscores the measures which are necessary to be taken for the conservation of this area from the human-caused destructions. |
| Keywords: |
| Assemblage, bioindicator, conservation, diversity, Tephritidae |
| Status : Paper Accepted (Poster Presentation) |
