Diario de atousa-fh

To determine the effective bio-control agents of water fern, Azolla filiculoides, adults and nymphs of water lily aphid, Rhopalosiphum nymphaeae (L.), were collected on A. filiculoides in Guilan Province, Iran, during October 2013. This aphid has been collected extensively from almost all water fern samples during 2013 and 2014. Although R. nymphaeae was reported from numerous host plants in Iran, this species was collected for the first time from water fern. This aphid is heteroecious holocyclic with a sexual phase on Prunus spp., but it is the first report of its sexual phase formation on water fern as secondary host plant.

https://jcp.modares.ac.ir/article-3-6800-en.html

Diasemiopsis ramburialis and Nomophila noctuella are moths from Spilomelinae (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) with an overlapping feeding period on Azolla spp. in northern Iran. Due to some morphological similarities, immature stages often lead to confusion. A five-year study conducted in laboratory and natural environments revealed that, despite these morphological similarities, distinct characteristics in both morphology and behavior can facilitate their primary identification in the field. Diasemiopsis ramburialis eggs, and first instar larvae are opaque to pale orange, while those of N. noctuella are pale to creamy. Additionally, the last instar larvae of D. ramburialis feature orange head capsules with smaller body sizes and tend to pupate near the feeding site. In contrast, Nomophila noctuella's last instar larvae have black head capsules, larger body sizes, and pupate at a distance from the feeding site. Both species exhibit shelter-building behavior, binding Azolla spp. leaves together using silken webs to create protective enclosures. However, D. ramburialis larvae construct more robust shelters and produce more webs. They primarily remain within these shelters and navigate through web-formed corridors. On the other hand, N. noctuella larvae prefer to move along the feeding site margins within corridors formed by bound-up leaves and display a more wandering behavior. The study's findings indicate that Azolla spp. serves as the primary host plant for D. ramburialis, while N. noctuella appears to choose its host plants randomly.

https://jcp.modares.ac.ir/article-3-60244-en.pdf

The water fern weevil, Stenopelmus rufinasus Gyllenhal (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is considered as the most important biological control agent of Azolla spp. in the world. Azolla spp. was introduced in Iran in 1986. In August 2017, two specimens of S. rufinasus were collected on Azolla spp. in waterways near Anzali lagoon and Rice Research Institute of Iran (RRII) in Guilan province for the first time. Identification was based on molecular sequencing. This is the first record of S. rufinasus from Iran.

https://jcp.modares.ac.ir/article-3-13320-en.html

https://jesi.areeo.ac.ir/article_130004.html?lang=en

Water ferns (Azolla spp., Azollaceae) are reported for the first time as host plants for the larvae of the small China-mark moth Cataclysta lemnata (Linnaeus) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae: Acentropinae) in rice fields and waterways of northern Iran. Cataclysta lemnata is a semi-aquatic species that has been recorded to feed on Lemnaceae and a few other aquatic plants. However, it has not been reported before on Azolla spp. Larvae use water fern as food source and shelter and, at high population density in the laboratory, they completely wiped water fern from the water surface. Feeding was confirmed after rearing more than eight continual generations of C. lemnata on water fern in the laboratory. Adults obtained this way are darker and have darker fuscous markings in both sexes compared with specimens previously reported and the pattern remains unchanged after several generations.

https://nl.pensoft.net/article/10062/

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01650424.2018.1499937

During a survey at the Rice Research Institute of Iran (RRII, Rasht, Guilan) for potential biocontrol agents of water fern, Azolla filiculoides Lam. (Pteridophyta: Azollaceae), larvae of Diasemiopsis ramburialis (Duponchel) (Pyralidaes. l., Spilomelinae) were discovered feeding on water fern. Larvae were found to cause serious feeding damage on leaves of water fern in the laboratory. The biology, life cycle, and the morphology of all stages of this species are described and illustrated for the first time. This is also the first record of this cosmopolitan species in Iran. We report water fern as a host for Diasemiopsis ramburialis; until now the host plant of D. ramburialis was unknown.

https://nl.pensoft.net/article/6887/

While testing the efficacy of herbicides on paddy weeds at the Rice Research Institute of Iran (RRII) in 2008, we encountered the failure of arrowhead (Sagittaria sagittifolia L., Alismataceae) seeds to germinate. Detailed investigation revealed physical damage of seeds caused by the larvae of Gynnidomorpha permixtana (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) (Tortricidae, Tortricinae, Cochylina). Further studies showed that larvae feed on the seeds and flowers of the host plant and destroy the achenes. Under laboratory conditions G. permixtana required 23–30 days to complete its life cycle. Arrowhead is a new host record for this moth species; furthermore, this is the first detailed record of a tortricid feeding on this plant.

https://nl.pensoft.net/article/4013/

We report the first record of the larvae of a species in the butterfly genus Ochlodes (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) feeding on rice and causing notable damage. Based on the results of DNA barcoding of the reared adults and further investigation of male and female genitalia, we revise the status of taxon hyrcana Christoph, 1893 as a subspecies of Ochlodes sylvanus (Esper, [1778]) stat. rev.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jen.13167