Zoosyst. Evol. 94 (1) 2018, 95-108 | DOI 10.3897/zse.94.22501 > PENSUFT. museum fur naturkunde Taxonomic and faunistic study of Aulacidae (Hymenoptera, Evanioidea) from Iran, with illustrated key to species Mostafa Ghafouri Moghaddam!, Giuseppe Fabrizio Turrisi* 1 Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture, University of Zabol, Zabol, P.O. Box: 98615—538, I. R. IRAN 2 Via Cristoforo Colombo 8, 95030, Pedara, Catania, Italy http://zoobank. org/583 BCCD1-F6E 1-492A-AOCE-5E1DB5 114477 Corresponding author: Mostafa Ghafouri Moghaddam (ghafourim@uoz.ac.ir) Abstract Received 24 November 2017 Accepted 24 January 2018 Published 2 February 2018 Aulacidae are parasitoids of wood-boring larvae of Hymenoptera and Coleoptera, known in all zoogeographic regions of the World, except Antarctic. Two aulacids, Pristaulacus compressus (Spinola, 1808) and the rare Pristaulacus mourguesi Maneval, 1935, have been recently collected from Iran, the latter being a new record. Based on available data, Academic editor: Michael Ohl Key Words Pristaulacus Western Iran wood-boring parasitoid illustrated key Introduction The aulacid wasps, Aulacidae Shuckard, 1842 are en- doparasitoids of wood-boring larvae Coleoptera (Cer- ambycidae and Buprestidae) and Hymenoptera (Xiphy- driidae). The family Aulacidae is small distinct family in the superfamily Evanioidea. This family includes 262 extant species grouped within only two genera, Aulacus Jurine, 1807 with 83 species and Pristaulacus Kieffer, 1900 (including the former Panaulix Benoit, 1984), with 177 species (Jennings and Austin 2004, Turrisi et al. 2009, Chen et al. 2016, Turrisi and Nobile 2016; Turrisi 2017). According to the online Taxapad (Yu et al. 2012) this family contains four subfamilies and 11 genera, including fossils. Some identified fossils are not completely known and their inclusion within Aulacidae still remains somewhat questionable (Zhang and Rasnitsyn 2004). the Iranian aulacid fauna includes five species within a single genus, Pristaulacus Kieffer 1900. A brief taxonomic treatment, as well as morphometric data and an illustrated key to species, are provided. Some evidence support strongly a close relationship be- tween Aulacidae and Gasteruptiidae and each group are cur- rently considered as distinct families (Jennings and Austin 2000, Turrisi et al. 2009). However, the current generic clas- sification of the Aulacidae is not sufficiently robust and needs further study. There is strong support for the monophyly of Pristaulacus but not for Aulacus, which is largely paraphy- letic in the cladistics analyses of Turrisi et al. (2009). The faunistic knowledge of Aulacidae is generally unsatisfactory due to their general rarity and difficulty in collecting by con- ventional methods, e.g., by net; there 1s a general paucity of available material, even in the large museums (Turrisi 2007). The Iranian Aulacidae has been recently treated by Ghahari (2012), Lotfalizadeh et al. (2017) and Ghahari and Madl (2017). Nonetheless, continuous sampling in different ecosystems, particularly with Malaise traps, has resulted in new records which we present in this paper, along with an illustrated key to species. Copyright Mostafa Ghafouri Moghaddam, Giuseppe Fabrizio Turrisi. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribu- tion License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. 96 Ghafouri Moghaddam, M. & Turrisi, G.F: Aulacidae (Hymenoptera, Evanioidea) of Iran Material and methods The specimens examined in the present paper have been recently collected using a modified Malaise-trap (Fun- nel-Townes Style, B. Motamedinia, unpublished: BM- MTF-TS) placed in various localities of Kermanshah province (Western part of Iran), as well as in Eastern provinces (Fig. 1A—B). The traps were a basic Malaise trap supplemented with an additional internal collecting bottle. The insects bump into the black mesh panel and move towards the lighter mesh to escape due to their pos- itive phototropism (van Achterberg 2009); at this point, they encounter the collection bottle and become perma- nently trapped. However, a considerable number of in- Figure 1. Malaise traps; locations. A Kermanshah province, Dudan, adjacent to the river and valley; B Kermanshah province, Harsin, near the foothills; C and D Additional collecting bottle inside the trap. zse.pensoft.net Zoosyst. Evol. 94 (1) 2018, 95-108 sects fail to enter the collecting bottle for various reasons e.g., inappropriate installation of trap or collecting bottle, displacement of the trap by wind, or the particular behav- ior of the insects (Fig. 1C—D). The collected specimens were killed in 75% ethanol and then glued on triangular cards, according to AXA protocol (van Achterberg 2009). Finally, all of the specimens labeled using new pinning block (Ghafouri Moghaddam et al. 2017). Specimens were examined under a Nikon® SMZ645 stereomicroscope (Nikon® Inc., Japan). Illustrations of taxonomically important body parts were taken using a Canon® EOS 700D (Canon® Inc., Japan), a simple light source with halogen lamp (manual) and 2x lenses mount- ed on Hund® Stereomicroscope (Wetzlar Inc., Germany). Multiple images were subsequently processed in Zerene Stacker™ version 1.04 software and post processed in Adobe Photoshop® CS6. The images in the illustrated key were prepared by the second author using voucher spec- imens already deposited in his private collection. Mor- phological terminology follows Crosskey (1951), Huber and Sharkey (1993) and Turrisi (2007). Terminology for 97 surface sculpturing follows Harris (1979). A distributional map was generated using SimpleMappr (Shorthouse 2010) and collecting localities are given in Fig. 8. The follow- ing abbreviations are used for depositories: CPTO: Guido Pagliano collection, Torino, Italy; DPPZ: Collection of Department of Plant Protection, University of Zabol, Iran; DU: Depository Unknown; MCSN: Museo Civico di Sto- ria Naturale “G. Doria”, Genova, Italy; MNHN: Muséum National d’ Histoire Naturelle, Laboratoire d’Entomologie, Paris, France, NHMW: Naturhistorisches Museum, Wien, Austria; ZIN: Zoological Institute of the Russian Acade- my of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia; ZMUC: Zoologi- cal Museum, Copenhagen University, Denmark. Measurements were done with a micro-ruler. Morpho- metric ratios were measured in tpsDig ver. 2.05 (Rohlf 2006), using digitized coordinates of landmarks and cap- ture outlines. It should be noted that we documented mea- surements to the nearest 0.001 mm with tpsDig, but we conservatively report them to an accuracy of two decimal places. Definitions and abbreviations for the measured characters are shown in Table | (see also Figs 2, 3, 5). Table 1. Abbreviation for morphometric data, measured in the examined material. Abbreviation Definition Explanation CIL Clypeal maximum length Full-face view, as in Fig 5A CIOL Clypeus-ocellar line Distance between base of clypeus and median ocellus, full-face view (Fig 5A). CIW Clypeal maximum width Full-face view, as in Fig 5A CoL Hind coxa maximum length | In lateral view, as in Fig 3C CoW Hind coxa maximum width In lateral view, as in Fig 3C EL Eye maximum length Vertical line length of compound eye, full-face view (Fig 2A) EW Eye maximum width Horizontal line, width of the compound eye, full-face view (Fig 2A) FWL Fore wing maximum length |From median margin of first axillary sclerite to distal point of wing blade, as in Fig 3A FWW Fore wing maximum width Longest line drawn perpendicular to the length axis, as in Fig 3A HL Head maximum length From anterior prominence of head to base of occipital carina, dorsal view (Fig 2B) HW Head maximum width Maximum distance between lateral margins of compound eyes dorsal view (Fig 2B) IOL Inter-ocular line Shortest distance between inner margin of compound eyes, full-face view (Fig 2A) longest anatomical line that connects the posterior-most point of the propodeal lobe MsL Mesosoma maximum length | with the anterior-most point of the pronotum, but if one of the reference points is not visible, dorsal view may help, preferentially in lateral view (Fig 2D) MsW Mesosoma maximum width | |n dorsal view, as in Fig 2E MtL Metasoma maximum length | From base of petiole to base of pygidium, lateral view (Fig. 3B) OD Ocellar diameter In dorsal view, as in Fig 2B OML Gahlatinandi buat’ Rea BA ROHS. HIRE EEE of compound eye and mandibular OOCL Ocular-occipital carina line Be espe ae apna lateral margin of compound eye and base of occipital OOL Oculo-ocellar line Shortest distance between margins of compound eye and ocellus, dorsal view (Fig 2B) OTL Geile tantoriat ine Bee ences BAe i anterolateral margin of compound eye and tentorial pit, PEL Petiole maximum length From anterior-most margin to posterior margin of petiole, dorsal view (Fig 2F) PEW Petiole maximum width Dorsal view, as in Fig 2F PL oe tae From apex of scutellum to base of petiole, dorsal view (Fig 2E) POL Posterior-ocellar line Shortest distance between margin of lateral ocelli, dorsal view (Fig 2B) PSL ogee meee As in Fig 3A PSW Pterostigma maximum width | As in Fig 3A PW Propodeum maximum width | |n dorsal view, as in Fig 2E TL Temple maximum length A Re ae goes anterior margin of compound eye and base of occipital zse.pensoft.net 98 Ghafouri Moghaddam, M. & Turrisi, G.F: Aulacidae (Hymenoptera, Evanioidea) of Iran Results individual provinces are marked with a single (*) or dou- ble (**) asterisks, respectively. It should be noted that no Five species belonging to the genus Pristaulacus are re- | depository was mentioned for specimens of both P. bar- corded from five provinces of Iran (East-Azarbaijan, Gui- beyi and P. galitae from Iran (Ghahari 2012), thus, it has lan, Kermanshah, Shiraz and West Azarbaijan) (Fig. 8). | not been possible to examine this material for confirma- The species recorded for the first time from Iran and from __ tion. These taxa are marked below with an #. Illustrated key to Iranian Pristaulacus Kieffer 1 Lateroventralimar einai PrOmOtuimawithoui ToOrirlikesprOCeSSi( a)... cess screehien: 2.2 Wetter ee IM ete eee olen cee ada ah t 2 2 Head dull to weakly shiny, extensively transverse striolate (a); hind tarsus dark brown; tarsal claw with two tooth-like precessess(b)# petiole:stockysalid! SMORICE )n : srrusterse:. 5, ule a aoe pei es ee eres oom invett ss aot Renee P, barbeyi (Ferriére, 1933) zse.pensoft.net Zoosyst. Evol. 94 (1) 2018, 95-108 he) - Head shiny, mostly polished, except frons weakly striolate punctate (aa); hind tarsus yellow; tarsal claw with four tooth- like processes (bb); petiole slender and elongate (CC) ................cccccscceeceseceeeeeetectencseeeeseoeees P. gloriator (Fabricius, 1804) 3 Lateroventral margin of pronotum with one tooth-like process (see first couplet) - Lateroventral margin of pronotum with two tooth-like processes (aa) 4 Large sized species (body length, excluding ovipositor, 16.5-18.5 mm); occipital carina rim-like, blackish, 0.2 diameter of an ocellus (a); hind basitarsus weakly but distinctly curved, 1.5x longer than tarsomeres 2-5 (b); ovipositor 1.4x fore WMS Uc Ae el nto ONE Rares cP Neek DOP cutene AG dy cones eV Pet cate ve CU seies OU ANS Bsc ind OPEN leh kts P. mourguesi Maneval, 1935 zse.pensoft.net 100 Ghafouri Moghaddam, M. & Turrisi, G.F: Aulacidae (Hymenoptera, Evanioidea) of Iran - Medium sized species (body length, excluding ovipositor, 8.0-11.5 mm); occipital carina cerciniform, brownish, 0.5x diameter of an ocellus (aa); hind basitarsus straight, 1.1 longer than tarsomeres 2-5 (bb); ovipositor 1.2 fore wing Family Aulacidae Shuckard, 1842 Pristaulacus Kieffer, 1900 Pristaulacus barbeyi (Ferriére, 1933) # Odontaulacus barbeyi Ferriére, 1933: 141, Holotype 9 and paratype 3. — Algeria, Babor (MNHN). Distribution. Algeria, Greece, Morocco, Spain, Turkey (Turrisi 2007) and Iran (Ghahari 2012; Turrisi 201 3a, b, c). Distribution in Iran. West Azarbaijan province (Ghahari 2012) DU): Diagnosis. P. barbeyi is a small to medium-sized spe- cies, with body length (excluding ovipositor) of 6.7— 11.8 mm, fore wing length 5.1-8.1 mm; ovipositor length 1.3x fore wing length (holotype), but variable length among specimens from Turkey. It is readily dis- tinguished by the shape of the head with a very narrow cerciniform occipital carina (width less than 0.2 ocel- lus diameter), rounded latero-ventral margin of prono- tum without tooth-like processes, tarsal claw bearing two tooth-like processes along the inner margin, and a short and stocky petiole. Hosts. Ghahari (2012) mentioned an unknown Bupresti- dae as host of this species in Iran, living on Abies. Pristaulacus compressus (Spinola, 1808) ** Figs 2, 3, 4 Aulacus compressus Spinola, 1808: 48, Holotype ¢. — Italy, Liguria, Habitat in montibus Orerii (MCSN). Specimens examined. 292, DPPZ. Iran, Kermanshah province, Dudan, 35°01'00"N, 46°11'32"E, 1155m, 20.VI.2016, Malaise trap no. 2 mounted in orchard, leg.: M. Zardouei Heidari; 12, DPPZ. Iran, Kermanshah zse.pensoft.net P. galitae (Gribodo, 1879) aa province, Harsin, 34°16’18.89"N, 47°36’16.63”E, 1568 m, 05.VII.2016, Malaise trap no. 1 mounted in orchard, leg.: M. Zardouei Heidari. Distribution. Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Lebanon, Morocco, Poland, Romania, Russia (west- ern territories), Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and former Yugoslavia (Mad! 1990, Turrisi 2007, 2011, 2013a). Distribution in Iran. Shiraz (Mad! 1990: 114, NHMW), East-Azarbaijan (Lotfalizadeh et al. 2017: DU), and Ker- manshah province (new record). Diagnosis. It is a medium sized species with a body length of 8.8—14.2 mm (excluding ovipositor), fore wing length 6.6—9.5 mm. It is readily distinguished by having a wide occipital carina (width equal to ocellus diameter), a pair of tooth-like processes on each latero-ventral margin of pronotum, reddish-orange hind tarsus, and ovipositor length 1.1—1.3x fore wing length. Morphometric ratios. CIOL/CIL: 1.10; CIL/CIW: 3.33; CIW/OML: 0.69; CoL/CoW: 2.61; EL/EW: 2.42; EL/ OML: 2.90; EW/OOCL: 0.40; EW/OTL: 1.21; FWL/ FWW: 3.10; HL/CIL: 4.04; HL/TL: 2.07; HW/EW: 9.48: HW/HL: 1.21; IOL/CIOL: 1.36; IOL/EW: 2.91; IOL/ HW: 0.30; IOL/OML: 3.48; MsL/MsW: 2.18; MtL/MtW: 2.57, PEL/PEW: 1.90; PL/PW: 0.67; POL/OD: 1.46; POL/OOL: 1.00; SL/SW: 2.89; TL/EL: 1.55. Hosts. This species was reared from Chlorophorus adelii Holzschuh, 1974 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) in tree oak, Quercus sp. (Madl 1990, Wall 1994). The reared beetle is polyphagous on deciduous trees and is endemic to Iran (Holzschuh 1974). Remarks. The distribution of this species covers main- ly the European area (see Turrisi 2011). It shows some Zoosyst. Evol. 94 (1) 2018, 95-108 101 ie! \ ~~ “a 1% ie: 4 ; \ . . . r % F & i . : A = ——eere Rh: acai > 7 P aed _ 7 * * d ‘ —— ‘ ‘ J : q ’ ct FS 2 J a . « . — bas: - ; e % is ar " * P 7 2 4 = > = ar ‘is ’ ; ¥ 4 . wy, =< ee 8 7 ' t =, 7 = ss j q ' | i N “ Se: 7 Spe > ibe bs hy x x q + Netter y x : ¥ Ee 4 ‘ = a ; q J ‘ a f i F : iS \ = . \ ‘— a >» a.” N a Figure 2. Pristaulacus compressus Spinola 1808. female (Iran): A face, frontal view; B head, dorsal view; C head, lateral view; D mesosoma, lateral view; E mesosoma, dorsal view; F petiole and metasoma, dorsal view. intraspecific variation in colour and sculpture of some _rugulose, a longer petiole and ovipositor (see Turrisi parts of the body (Turrisi 2007). The most similar spe- (2007, 2011 for more details). The head bears a coarser cies 1s P. Jindae Turrisi, 2000, having hind tarsi blackish punctuation than European specimens of P. compressus brown, metasoma more extensively red orange, different and P. lJindae, but less so than the other two similar spe- shape of mesosoma, sculpture of prescutum carinulate cies P. samai Turrisi, 2011 and P. rapuzzii Turrisi, 2011. zse.pensoft.net 102 Ghafouri Moghaddam, M. & Turrisi, G.F.: Aulacidae (Hymenoptera, Evanioidea) of Iran : Figure 3. Pristaulacus compressus Spinola 1808. female (Iran): A fore and hind wing; B petiole and metasoma, lateral view; C hind coxa, lateral view; D hind claw, ventral view. Pristaulacus galitae (Gribodo, 1879) # Aulacus galitae Gribodo, 1879: 339, Holotype 9. — Tunisia, Galita Island (CPTO). Distribution. Algeria, Austria, Bulgaria, Canary Islands (Tenerife), Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece (including Crete and Rhodos), Hun- zse.pensoft.net gary, Iran, Italy (including Sardinia and Sicily), Moroc- co, Poland, Romania, Russia (westernmost area), Slo- vakia, Spain, Tunisia (including Galita Island), Turkey, Ukraine and former Yugoslavia (Turrisi 2007, 2013a, Ghahari 2012, Huflejt and Wisniowski 2012). Distribution in Iran. East Azarbaijan province (Ghahari 20127DU). Zoosyst. Evol. 94 (1) 2018, 95-108 103 Figure 4. Pristaulacus compressus Spinola 1808. female (Iran): lateral habitus. Diagnosis. P. galitae is a medium-sized species with a body length of 8.0—-11.2 mm (excluding ovipositor), fore wing length 4.5—7.8 mm. It is distinguished by the com- bination of the following features: shape of the head, with rounded profile of temple, occipital carina moderately wide (0.5x OD), one anterior tooth-like process on each side of latero-ventral margin of pronotum, ovipositor length 1.0—1.2x fore wing length. Hosts. Ghahari (2012) mentioned specimens reared in Iran from Trichoferus griseus # (Fabricius, 1792) (Cole- optera, Cerambycidae) feeding on common fig, Ficus car- ica L. (Moraceae). Pristaulacus gloriator (Fabricius, 1804) Bassus gloriator Fabricius, 1804: 99, Holotype 2. — Germany, Habitat in Germ. Dom. Smidt (ZMUC). Distribution. Albania, Austria, Czech Republic, Ger- many, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Poland, Romania, Russia (European and central areas), Slovakia, Turkey, former Yugoslavia (Turrisi 2007, 2013a, Huflejt and Wisniowski 2012). Distribution in Iran. Guilan province (Mad 1990: 114-115, NHMW,;j Turrisi 2007). Diagnosis. P. gloriator is a medium to moderately large- sized species with a body length of 10.2-15.0 mm (ex- cluding ovipositor), fore wing length 8.2-11.8 mm. It can be easily identified by the shape of the head with a narrow cerciniform occipital carina (width 0.2 OD), a rugulose-carinulate frons, latero-ventral margin of prono- tum rounded without tooth-like processes, four tooth-like processes on the inner margin of tarsal claw, and light yellow tarsi. Hosts. This species was reared from Paraclytus reitteri (Ganglbauer, 1881) (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) feeding on alder, A/nus sp. The reared beetle is polyphagous in deciduous trees 1.e. Acer, Alnus, Carpinus and Quercus (Miroshnikov 2014). Remarks. This species was previously recorded as P. holzschuhi Madl, 1990 from Bandar-e Pahlavi (now called: Bandar-e Anzali - Anzali Port), Assalem, Guilan, Iran (MadlI 1990), and is considered as a synonym of P. gloriator (Turrisi 2007) (type material examined and de- posited in NHMW). Pristaulacus mourguesi Maneval, 1935 * Figs 5, 6, 7 Pristaulacus mourguesi Maneval, 1935: 66, Holotype 9. — France, Pont-Ravatgers (MNHN). Specimens examined. 22, DPPZ. Iran, Kermanshah province, Dudan, 35°01'00"N, 46°11'32”E, 1155m, 20.11.2016, BM-MTF-TS mounted in orchard, leg.: M. Zardouei Heidari; 19, DPPZ. same locality label, 05.VI.2016, BM-MTF-TS mounted among Oak forest - Quercus brantii Lindley, leg.: M. Zardouei Heidari. Distribution. Croatia, France, Greece, Hungary (Turrisi 2007, 2013a), Iran (new record). zse.pensoft.net 104 Ghafouri Moghaddam, M. & Turrisi, G.F.: Aulacidae (Hymenoptera, Evanioidea) of Iran Figure 5. Pristaulacus mourguesi Maneval, 1935. female (Iran): A face, frontal view; B head, dorsal view; C head, lateral view; D mesosoma, lateral view; E mesosoma, dorsal view; F petiole and metasoma, dorsal view. Distribution in Iran. Kermanshah province. Diagnosis. P. mourguesi is one of the largest species among the Palaearctic Pristaulacus with a body length varying from 16.5 to 18.5 mm (excluding ovipositor), and fore wing length of 8.8-13.0 mm (@). It is distinguished by the shape of the head, narrow cerciniform occipital zse.pensoft.net carina (width 0.2 ocellus diameter), hind basitarsus long and slightly curved, 1.5x length of tarsomeres 2-5, and long ovipositor, 1.4-1.6x fore wing length. Morphometric ratios. CIOL/CIL: 1.21; CIL/CIW: 2.75; CIW/OML: 0.78; CoL/CoW: 2.71; EL/EW: 2.65; EL/ OML: 2.72; EW/OOCL: 0.58; EW/OTL: 1.14; FWL/ Zoosyst. Evol. 94 (1) 2018, 95-108 105 oe | on in ee Figure 6. Pristaulacus mourguesi Maneval, 1935. female (Iran): A fore and hind wing; B petiole and metasoma, lateral view; C hind coxa, lateral view; D hind claw, ventral view. FWW: 3.02; HL/CIL: 2.01; HL/TL: 1.97; HW/EW: 5.40; Remarks. This species was previously recorded only from HW/HL: 1.27; IOL/CIOL: 1.27; IOL/EW: 3.26; IOL/HW: — Europe (Turrisi 2007, 2013a). There is a possible record 0.60; IOL/OML: 3.35; MsL/MsW: 1.91; MtL/MtW: 6.39; for the Near East without source material (Madl 2012). PEL/PEW: 2.39; PL/PW: 0.55; POL/OD: 2.08; POL/OOL: _ The closest species is P. morawitzi (Semenow, 1892) being 1.33; SL/SW: 2.62; TL/EL: 0.80. medium sized, punctures of head very fine, superficial, and scattered, metasoma pyriform, strongly compressed, nearly Hosts. Unknown (Turrisi 2007). entirely reddish orange. See Turrisi (2007) for more details. zse.pensoft.net 106 Ghafouri Moghaddam, M. & Turrisi, G.F: Aulacidae (Hymenoptera, Evanioidea) of Iran Figure 7. Pristaulacus mourguesi Maneval, 1935. female (Iran): lateral habitus. _ V Pristaulacus barbeyi oo a Pristaulacus compressus A Pristaulacus galitae @® Pristaulacus gloriator W Pristaulacus mou igh Figure 8. Distribution map of aulacid species in some provinces of Iran. Discussion habitat) regions, except P. compressus, which is recorded from Southern (subdesertic habitat) region. The number of Iranian Aulacidae is raised to five, all Jennings et al. (2004) stated that remnant stands of for- within a single genus (Pristaulacus). All these species _ et are an ideal habitat for their wood-boring hosts. These have been collected in Northern and Northwestern (forest | wasps can be locally abundant in areas undergoing log- zse.pensoft.net Zoosyst. Evol. 94 (1) 2018, 95-108 ging or forest fires. The rich fossil record of Aulacidae indicates they were quite abundant in the Mesozoic (Jen- nings and Austin 2004, Turrisi et al. 2009). The new specimens have been collected in Zagros forests, which have an area of about 6 million hectares (3.5 percent of Iran), located in the west of Iran with a semi-arid to temperate climate. This wide territory is also referred to as western oak forests (oak-woodland), due to the dominancy of oak species (Quercus spp.). The species composition of the woodland vegetation depends on the climatic conditions (Zohary 1973, Kwandrans 2007). The five species reported in this paper are distributed only in the Western part of the Palearctic region. The results of the present study clearly show the improved efficiency of modern collecting methods for Hymenoptera that are rarely collected with most conventional methods. In addition, the best collecting period seems to be June and this is consistent with those reported in Lotfalizadeh et al. (2017). Although the research suggests a higher number of species in the Western territories of Iran we predict that the Eastern and Southern parts should also be quite spe- cies-rich. Further investigation, especially in poorly collected regions will probably increase the number of known species (Turrisi 2014). The species reported from Iran have ranges included in the Western part of the Pa- laearctic region. Given the poorly known faunistic sit- uation, it is premature to discuss possible relationships among faunas of Iran and adjacent territories. Acknowledgements We are indebted to Ms. Maryam Zardouei Heidari (Uni- versity of Zabol, Iran) for collecting the specimens and Mr. Amir Nabizadeh Sarabandi (University of Birjand, Iran) for his suggestion and advice on photographing. The authors also express their deep gratitude to Ehsan Rakhshani (University of Zabol, Iran) who offered con- structive comments that significantly improved the manu- script. The Museum fiir Naturkunde Berlin kindly waived the author’s fees for this manuscript. The authors thank the anonymous reviewers and the editor for the helpful comments on the manuscript. References van Achterberg C (2009) Can Townes type Malaise traps be improved? Some recent developments. Entomologische Berichten 69(4): 129-135. Benoit PLG (1984) Aulacidae, famille nouvelle pour la faune de Il’Afrique tropicale (Hymenoptera). 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