New data on the distribution and hosts of Dinocampus coccinellae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in Iran

Abstract

Three ladybird (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) species, Coccinella septempunctata L., C. undecimpunctata L. and Hippodamia variegata (Goeze), were recorded as hosts of Dinocampus coccinellae (Schrank, 1802) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in the Iranian provinces of Khuzestan and Kurdistan. Coccinella undecimpunctata is a new host of this parasitoid in the country and both provinces are its new distribution records. The rates of emergence of D. coccinellae from field-collected C. septempunctata and H. variegata were very low (below 1%), while C. undecimpunctata was parasitized to a much higher degree (26.7%).

Keywords

• coleoptera
• coccinellidae
• natural enemy
• new host
• parasitoid