Biharean Biologist (2009) Vol. 3, No.2, Pp.: 157-159 P-ISSN: 1843-5637, E-ISSN: 2065-1155 Article No.: 031204 ©Biharean Biologist, Oradea, Romania, 2009 Biharean Biol. 3, 2009 http://biologie-oradea.xhost.ro/BihBiol/index.html Oradea, Romania New distribution and host record of Eurytoma scrophulariae Zerova, 1981 (Hym.: Eurytomidae) from south of Iran Hosseinali LOTFALIZADEH 1 and Abbas MOHAMMADI-KHORAMABADI 2 1. Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Azad University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran E-mail: hlotfalizadeh2001@yahoo.com 2. College of Agriculture and Natural Resources of Darab, Shiraz University , Darab, P.O.B. 335, Iran Abstract. Eurytoma scrophulariae Zerova, 1981 (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea, Eurytomidae) was reared on Stator limbatus (Horn, 1873) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae) as a seed-eater beetle of Prosopis stephaniana (Willd.) (Fabaceae). It is a new record of E. scrophulariae from south and center of Iran. The association of E. scrophulariae on S. limbatus and P. stephaniana is newly described. Keywords: Eurytoma scrophulariae, Eurytomidae, parasitoid, Stator limbatus Recently junior author (AMK) collected seeds of Prosopis stephaniana (Willd.) (Fabaceae) in the south of Iran (Fars Province, Darab) in 15.III.2008. Within these seeds several specimens of the Eurytomidae family (Hyme- noptera: Chalcidoidea) emerged in late March to April 2008 (Figs 5-6). The pupation lasted approximately two weeks. Specimens were presumably placed in alcohol 75% shortly after emergence. They were dehydrated, card mounted and identified as Eurytoma scrophulariae Zerova, 1981 using available keys for the Palaearctic region (Zerova 1995, Zerova & Seryogina 2006) by senior author (HL). These specimens were considered as seed-eaters of P. stephaniana, whilst the species included in this group of Eurytoma are parasitic. Hence, biological information was doubted and intensive verifications showed it lives parasitically on a seed-eater beetle, Stator limbatus (Horn, 1873) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae) (Figs 1-2). Notes. Traditionally, the genus Eurytoma Illiger is a very large genus within the family. It has been recently limited and re-defined based on a phylogenetic analysis (Lotfalizadeh et al. 2007). Over 695 species of the genus Eurytoma that occur worldwide, 305 species are distributed in the Palaearctic region (Noyes 2009); however, only nine species are known from Iran (Noyes 2009, Lotfalizadeh et al. 2007). Hence, E. scrophulariae is new for Iranian fauna. We collected this species in another locality in the centre of Iran (Yazd) on 5.VIII.2008 and it seems that it has two generations annually. The Eurytoma scrophulariae belongs to the nodularis- group (Lotfalizadeh et al. 2007) or robusta-group of the genus Eurytoma (Zerova and Seryogina 2006). The entire species are exclusively parasitoid of different orders of insects’ seed, pod and wood-eater mainly within the beetles, wasps and flies. Zerova and Seryogina (2006) summarized the trophic relationship of this group and listed them in a table. Based on phylogentic studies of Lotfalizadeh et al. (2007), it belongs to the genus Aximopsis Ashmead, 1904. Gates et al. (2006) discussed diagnostic characters of the genus with two synapomor- phies supporting its monophyly. Nevertheless, only one of them has been confirmed by Lotfalizadeh et al. (2007) as a true synapomorphy. The Eurytoma scrophulariae superficially resembles E. nona Zerova, having a much wider head. It differs from it distinctly in a rounded procoxal tooth (from a lateral view). It also resembles Eurytoma alhagicola Zerova, from which it differs by characters outlined in Zerova and Seryogina (2006) and Zerova (1995) as follow: length of gaster and forewing nervation also by shape of antennal segments. Diagnosis. (Figs 7-10)- The head is considerably wider than the thorax, dorsally, 2 times wider than broad; the eyes large, convex and the longitudinal diameter of the eye noticeably exceeds the length of the cheek; lower face mostly strigose, ridges reaching antennal toruli above (Fig.9), face punctured latero- dorsally; intertorular space (ITS) deeply sulcate and raised laterally; lateral margin of antennal scrobes carinate, forming a raised lobe just above toruli; gena with a raised conspicuous carina (GNC= genal carina); preorbital rows of punctures visible as a faint preorbital carinae and a row of punctures visible along the posterior margin of eyes; postgenal laminae well expanded, visible in lateral view as a small tooth; all of funicular segments longer than broad, equal in length (Fig.8); mesopleuron, ventral shelf present and hori- zontal, delimited anteriorly by ventral part of epicne-