First report of Altenia mersinella (Lep.: Gelechiidae: Gelechiinae: Litini), a pest of pistachio, from Iran

Abstract

During a survey on pistachio, Pistacia vera L., pests in Isfahan, Iran, in 2015, some lepidopteran larvae living and feeding inside galls of the wrinkling pistachio aphid, Forda hirsuta Mordv., were observed. After laboratory rearing of these larvae, the moths were identified as Altenia mersinella (Staudinger, 1879) (Lep.: Gelechiidae) by the third author. This species has previously been reported from Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine but it is the first report of this species from Iran. Based on the available literature, this is also the first record of a host plant for this species.

Keywords

• iran fauna
• leaf-rolls
• leaf shelters
• wrinkling pistachio aphid