A Study on the Fauna of Predator and Parasitoid Arthropods in Saffron Fields (Crocus sativus L.)

Ghahari, Hassan

doi:10.22077/jsr.2019.2363.1096

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Hassan Ghahari

Dept. Plant Protection Shahre Rey Islamic Azad University Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22077/jsr.2019.2363.1096

Abstract

The saffron (Crocus sativus L.- Iridaceae) or red gold is an invaluable and economic agricultural crop which can be an important product for exportation. Saffron fields comprise some agricultural pests which are active in different regions of Iran and damage to the crop. In this faunistic survey, the fauna of beneficial Arthropoda (predators and parasitoids) was studied in some saffron fields of Iran (Southern Khorasan, Razavi Khorasan, Kerman, Fars and Lorestan provinces, Iran). In total, 31 predator insects within five orders, Coleoptera (Carabidae, Staphylinidae), Diptera (Asilidae, Syrphidae), Hymenoptera (Formicidae), Thysanoptera (Thripidae) and Heteroptera (Anthocoridae, Miridae, Nabidae, Reduviidae), and also five species of Araneae (spider) and five species of Acari were collected and identified as the predator arthropods. Additionally, 26 species of parasitoids in two orders, Diptera (Tachinidae) and Hymenoptera (Braconidae, Chalcididae, Eulophidae, Ichneumonidae, Pteromalidae) were collected. Among the collected natural enemies, three species Apechthis capulifera (Kriechbaumer, 1887), Virgichneumon albilineatus (Gravenhorst, 1820) and Netelia melanura (Thomson, 1888) (all Ichneumonidae) are new records for the fauna of Iran. Upon the present investigation, totally 67 species of predator and parasitoid arthropods were collected from saffron fields and neighbouring areas. High diversity of natural enemies is important in biological control of agricultural pests, and crop pollination.

Keywords

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