A survey of aphid parasitoids and hyperparasitoids (Hymenoptera) on six crops in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Abstract

In this study, we surveyed aphids and associated parasitoid wasps from six important crop species (wheat, sweet pepper, eggplant, broad bean, watermelon and sorghum), collected at 12 locations in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. A total of eight species of aphids were recorded which were parasitised by eleven species of primary parasitoids belonging to the families Braconidae and Aphelinidae. In addition, four species of hyperparasitoids (in families Encyrtidae, Figitidae, Pteromalidae and Signiphoridae) were recorded. Aphelinus albipodus (Hayat & Fatima, 1992), A. flaviventris (Kurdjumov, 1913), A. varipes (Förster, 1841) (Aphelinidae), Aphidius rhopalosiphi (De Stefani, 1902), A. uzbekistanicus (Luzhetzki, 1960), (Braconidae) and Alloxysta arcuata (Kieffer, 1902) (Figitidae) were recorded in Iraq for the first time. The results represent the first survey of these interactions in this region and form the basis for understanding crop-aphid-parasitoid-hyperparasitoid networks and for future biological control actions.