Two species of the genus Elachertus Spinola (Hym.: Eulophidae) new larval ectoparasitoids of Tuta absoluta (Meyreck) (Lep.: Gelechidae)

Abstract

This is the first report of two ectoparasitoid wasps, Elachertus inunctus (Nees, 1834) in Iran and Elachertus pulcher (Erdös, 1961) (Hym.: Eulophidae) in the world, that parasitize larvae of the tomato leaf miner, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick, 1917) (Lep.: Gelechiidae). The specimens were collected from tomato fields and greenhouses in Ahwaz, Khouzestan province (south west of Iran). Both species are new records for fauna of Iran. The knowledge about these parasitoids is still scanty. The potential of these parasitoids for biological control of T. absoluta in tomato fields and greenhouses should be investigated.

Keywords

• tomato leaf miner
• parasitoids
• identification
• biological control