First report of the family Eulohmanniidae (Acari: Sarcoptiformes: Oribatida) from Iran

In the course of a faunistic survey, between 2008 and 2009, on the oribatid mites of Shendabad region in the Iranian province of East Azerbaijan, the species Eulohmannia ribagai (Berlese) was collected and identified. The species and its associated family Eulohmanniidae are newly recorded from Iran

New report of two species of the family Quadroppiidae (Acari: Oribatida) for the fauna of Iran

In the course of the faunistic survey of oribatid mites (Acari, Oribatida) in Shend-Abad region of Iranian province of East Azarbaijan -2008 to 2009- two species of the family Quadroppiidae, Quadroppia (Quadroppia) quadricarinata (Michael) and Quadroppia (Coronoquadroppia) nasalis Gordeeva, were collected and identified. Both species are newly recorded from Iran

A geometric morphometric study on geographical Iranian populations of the pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Multivariate analyses of the morphological variation in five geographical populations of the pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner), was performed using 15 and 12 landmarks selected from the fore- and hindwings respectively. Using their geometric morphometric characters (26 in the forewings and 20 in the hindwings), 287 and 277 images of fore- and hindwings were made respectively. Analyses of size showed the wings of the females are bigger than those of the males (forewing: F = 3.98, P = 0.047; hindwing: F = 14.62, P = 0.000) on populations tested. The discriminant function analysis (DFA) of fore- and hindwings differentiated five geographical populations with 86.1% and 69.3%, respectively. The multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) of shape variables in fore- and hindwings indicated significant differences among populations as well as sexes (at least for one of the shape variables). Sex interaction within the populations was significant in fore- and hindwings, particularly based on the hindwing landmarks. The relative warp analysis (RWA) showed well-supported discrimination between sexes. The results showed significant difference between the sexes and also within the populations

Eriophyoid mite species (Acari: Prostigmata: Eriophyidae) associated with Compositae in Iran

Five species of eriophyoid mites were identified during surveys of mite fauna associated with plant species of the family Compositae from Southwest of East Azerbaijan province during 2010 and 2011. Two of them, Aceria virgatae n. sp. from Centaurea virgata Lam. and Aceria xeranthemis n. sp. from Xeranthemum squarrosum Boiss., were found to be new to science. No damage symptoms were observed on their host plants. Aceria xeranthemis n. sp. is the first eriophyoid collected from the plant genus Xeranthemum. Aculops centaureae (Farkas, 1960) from Centaurea albonitens Turrill and Aceria cichorii Petanovic et al. 2000 from Cichorium intybus L. are new records for Iranian mite fauna. The deutogyne female of Aceria anthocoptes (Nalepa) was recorded for the first time in Iran, too. A key to the species collected on Compositae in Iran is given

Two new eriophyoid mite species (Acari: Prostigmata: Eriophyidae) on Euphorbia spp. (Euphorbiaceae) from Iran

Eriophyoid mites infesting spurges (Euphorbiaceae) were surveyed in Kandovan and Govgan, southwest of East Azerbaijan Province in Iran, during 2010 and 2011. Two new species are described and illustrated: Aculops seguieranae n. sp. from Euphorbia seguierana Necker and Euphorbia cheiradenia Boiss. et Hohen, and Aceria cheiradeniae n. sp. from E. cheiradenia. No damage symptoms were observed