Parasitic Wasps and Arthropod Communities in Oothecal Microhabitats of Two Mantid Species, Hierodula tenuidentata and Iris oratoria

Abstract

This study examined the role of oothecae from two mantid species, Hierodula tenuidentata (Saussure, 1869) (Mantodea: Mantidae) and Iris oratoria (Linnaeus, 1785) (Mantodea: Eremiaphilidae), as microhabitats for parasitoid wasps and shelters for associated arthropods. A total of 32 oothecae were assessed, including 28 from H. tenuidentata and four from I. oratoria, collected from tree branches in Semnan and Khorasan Razavi Provinces in Iran, respectively. A total of 167 parasitoids removed from collected oothecae including three torymid species, Podagrion splendens (Spinola, 1811), Podagrion gibbum (Bernard, 1938), and Podagrion bouceki (Delvare, 2005), and one eulophid species, Melittobia megachilis (Packard, 1864), were recovered from H. tenuidentata oothecae. All of them belong to Hymenoptera. In contrast, only P. splendens emerged from I. oratoria oothecae. Additional arthropods included flies, mosquitos, ants and lacewings. All recorded parasitoid wasps and arthropods: Meoneura sp. (Carnidae), Lycoriella sp. (Sciaridae), Pheidole sp. as well as members of Cecidomyiidae, Psychodidae (Diptera), and Hemerobiidae (Neuroptera) represent the first documented associations with the oothecae of H. tenuidentata and I. oratoria. These finding highlight the potential complexity of various arthropods interactions within mantids oothecae as a suitable microhabitate.