The first proposal and perspective of Microgastrinae (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) in Iran as a megadiverse group: a major step in the regional studies

The subfamily Microgastrinae Foerster, 1862 (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonoidea, Braconidae) is a challenging and the most diverse groups of braconids that has significant importance in biological control programs. They are koinobiont endoparasitoids of lepidopteran larvae and generally attack and develop in early instars and exit from the host larvae to pupate. In current paper, the findings of primary taxonomic investigations on these valuable biocontrol agents is presented and for each genus, the general habitus of a represented species is illustrated. Also, the proportion of known hosts for some genera was provided. The purpose of this paper is to provide a preliminary information of the Microgastrinae in Iran to serve as a starting point for future studies on the group and to encourage further study of more species in other regions of Iran, on various aspects of taxonomic, ecological, host associations, conservation, DNA barcoding and bio-control.

Parasitoids, Braconidae, Microgastrinae, Lepidoptera, Biological control, Cryptic species