Discovery of the genus Clanoneurum Becker, 1903 (Diptera: Ephydridae) in Iran, representing an emerging pest of sugar beet, Clanoneurum cimiciforme (Haliday)

Abstract

The genus Clanoneurum Becker, 1903 currently includes two valid species and is distributed across the Afrotropical, Nearctic, Oriental, and Palaearctic regions. This genus and its species, C. cimiciforme (Haliday, 1855) are reported for the first time from Iran (North Khorasan Province) as a leaf miner of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.). This species has also been collected from the mangrove habitats in southern Iran (Bushehr and Hormozgan Provinces) close to the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea. The morphological characters of the genus and species, along with photographs of adults, immature stages, and symptoms of damage on sugar beet leaves, are presented.