George Japoshvili

Agricultural University of Georgia · Department of Entomology

Japoshvili, G. & Haris, A. 2024: Sawflies of Vashlovani National Park (Georgia - Sakartvelo) (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) Natura Somogyiensis 44: 27-40. Abstract: Thirty-five species were collected from Vashlovani National Park in Sakartvelo (Georgia). Megalodontes eversmanni (Freymuth, 1870), Aprosthema freyi (Forsius, 1921), Sterictiphora furcata (Vil...

We record for the first time the families Stephanidae and Mymarommatidae and the corresponding superfamilies Stephanoidea and Mymarommatoidea in Georgia. A single female of Stephanus serrator (Fabricius, 1798) was collected in Kakheti, Lagodekhi Protected Area (LPA), in the east, and five individuals of Mymaromma anomalum (Blood & Kryger, 1922) wer...

Altogether, 55 species belonging to 21 genera of the family Eulophidae are recorded for the fauna of Georgia (Sakartvelo) from the Lagodekhi Nature Reserve. The most species-rich genera were Diglyphus Walker, 1844 with 10 species, Chrysocharis Foerster, 1856 and Pediobius Walker, 1846, with 9 species each. The most common species, comprising almost...

The spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura, 1931), population fluctuations and distribution were monitored in four susceptible crops (blueberry, strawberry, cherry, wine grapes) and five major agricultural regions of Georgia (Guria, Samegrelo, Imereti, Kartli and Kakheti) during the years 2021 and 2022 with the aim to study the popu...

Spotted Wing Drosophila ( Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura, 1931)) population fluctuations and distribution was monitored in 2021 and 2022 years in five major agricultural regions of Georgia (Guria, Samegrelo, Imereti, Kartli and Kakheti) and in four susceptible crop orchards (blueberry, strawberry, cherry, wine grapes) with the aim to study populatio...

Two genera of Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) are for the first time recorded from Norway: Dusmetia Mercet, 1921 and Prionomastix Mayr, 1876. Six new species records for the country are presented, including two newly described taxa: Aphycus staverlokki Japoshvili sp. n. and Metaphycus sannes Japoshvili sp. n. The total number of known Norweg...

Arrhaphipterus schelkownikoffi Reitter, 1893, is reported from Georgia for the first time. Detailed information on the trapping localities, as well as photographs of the male, female, male genitalia, and empodium, are provided.

The mountain bumblebees of the subgenus Alpigenobombus Skorikov, 1914, are uniquely distinctive because the females have enlarged mandibles with six large, evenly spaced teeth, which they use to bite holes in long-corolla flowers for nectar robbing. Recognition of species in this subgenus has been uncertain, with names used in various combinations....

2 482 specimen belonging to 89 sawflies species are listed from the 1 264 m altitude of Kintrishi National Park. Characteristic species are: Onycholyda trigaria (Konow, 1897), Birka catellata (Konow, 1900), Strongylogaster caucasica Schaposchnikov, 1885, Eutomostethus ephippium ssp. vopiscus (Konow, 1899), Macrophya hamata ssp. caucasicola Muche,...

Twenty species of 39 specimens were collected in Tbilisi and Babaneuri reserve, Sakartvelo (Georgia). Tenthredopsis annuligera (Eversmann, 1847), Tenthredopsis festiva Konow, 1890 and Pristiphora araratensis Haris, 2006 are new records for the fauna of the country.

In this survey, we present distributional data for 628 wasps of the family Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera) collected in several Malaise traps at different altitudes in the Kintrishi National Park in Sakartvelo (Georgia) during the whole collection season of 2018. 337 of these Ichneumonidae are new records for the fauna of Georgia and 249 species are ne...

The increasing translocation of people and goods has led to the introduction of species outside their native range. Amongst these “alien” or “non-native” species, a wide range of introduced trees have established in the Mediterranean, with their health, growth and/or value being negatively affected by insect pests. Encyrtidae are well-known for the...

A B S T R A C T Sixty-four species of 513 specimens were collected in the montane and submontane altitudes of Kintrishi Nature Reserve. Twentythree species are country new records. Zoogeographic analysis and description of the flight periods are provided.

The present study was carried out in Diyarbakır and Siirt provinces during 2010-2013 on almond trees infested with the coccid Didesmococcus unifasciatus (Archangelskaya) (Hemiptera: Coccidae). The parasitoid of Metaphycus melanostomatus (Timberlake, 1916) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) is the first record on D. unifasciatus in the World.

This research was carried out between 2019-2021 to determine mealybugs (Hemiptera:Coccomorpha: Pseudococcidae) found in agricultural and non-agricultural areas and their natural enemies in Aydın province. Mealybug specimens were collected from roots, stems and leaves of host plants. All samples including plant materials were brought to the lab, and...

Thirty-six species of 103 specimens were collected in Racha and Kakheti regions. Faunistic list and zoogeographic analysis are provided. Aprosthema fusicorne (Thomson, 1871), Pristiphora albitibia (Costa, 1859) and Pristiphora beaumonti Zirngiebl, 1957 are new records for the fauna of the country.

Cynipid wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) are considered to be primary pests of oaks. In the years of mass infestation, cynipids might cause even death of young plants. Cynipidae gall wasps induce some of the most structurally complex galls on oak trees and other representatives of Fagaceae family. This group of oak pests has not been studied for the...

As a result of surveys conducted in Aydın Province (Turkey), 19 parasitoids belonging to the family Encyrtidae were found on pseudococcids. Four species are newly recorded from Turkey: Anusia tornike Japoshvili, Coccidoxenoides perminutus Girault, Homalotylus quaylei (Timberlake), and Prochiloneurus aegyptiacus (Mercet). One new species, Leptomasti...

302 specimen belonging to 59 sawflies species were collected in North Western Georgia. Characteristic species are: Monoctenus lechkhumensis Haris & Japoshvili, 2022, Birka catellata (Konow, 1900), Eutomostethus ephippium ssp. vopiscus (Konow, 1899), Strongylogaster caucasica Schaposchnikov, 1885, Macrophya hamata ssp. caucasicola Muche, 1969, Tenth...

115 species are listed from Karachay and Georgia (Caucasus) based on the Archil Supatashvili collection identified by V.M Ermolenko.

In total, 388 specimens belonging to 61 species of sawflies were collected in North-Western Georgia in 2020. Among the collected species, 29 are new country records.

Four genera and 12 species of drosophilid flies have been recorded during our survey in five regions of Georgia in 2021. Two genera, Amiota (Loew, 1862) and Gitona Meigen, 1830, and four species (Amiota subtusradiata Duda 1934, Drosophila busckii Coquillett 1901, D. kuntzei Duda, 1924, and Gitona distigma Meigen, 1830) represent new records for the...

During this survey, 195 species of coleopterans have been recorded from the Lagodekhi Protected Areas (LPA). Thirty families are recorded for the first time from this area, of which Rhysodidae, Sphindidaeand, and Thymalidae are new for Georgia. One hundred fifty-seven species are new to LPA and 66 of them are new country records.

Abstract: Sixty-five sawfly species have beenwere identified from a total of 1,703 specimens collected in Kintrishi National Park at three different altitudes using Malaise traps. Sixteen genera and 42 species were recorded for the first time in Georgia (Sakartvelo). The seasonal dynamics and diversity of sawfly community and vertical zoogeographic...

Sixty-five sawfly species have beenwere identified from a total of 1,703 specimens collected in Kintrishi National Park at threedifferent altitudes using Malaise traps. Sixteen genera and 42 species were recorded for the first time in Georgia (Sakartvelo). Theseasonal dynamics and diversity of sawfly community and vertical zoogeographical distribut...

As a result of our survey of parasitoid wasps, the number of encyrtid species known from the Netherlands increased from 106 to 123. Microterys nederlandicus Japoshvili sp. n. is described as new for science. Figures for all species identified during our survey are provided.

We present data on the distribution of seven wasp families, Ceraphronidae, Diapriidae, Ismaridae, Megaspilidae, Platygastridae, Proctotrupidae and Scelionidae, collected in Georgia (Sakartvelo). Thirty-three genera are recorded for the first time from Georgia and 25 of them for the Caucasus. From these, 16 species level taxa are newly recorded in G...

Our survey revealed 1666 species for Lagodekhi protected areas, belonging to 17 orders. Insect fauna of LPA increased with more than 1000 species. Most numerous order was Hymenoptera, with 652 species following by Coleoptera (353), Lepidoptera (294) and Hemiptera (210). This is first update of insect species list since 1956.

Four genera and 12 species of drosophilid flies have been recorded during our survey provided in five regions of Georgia. Two genera: Amiota (Loew, 1862) and Gitona Meigen, 1830, and four species: A. subtusradiata Duda, Drosophila busckii Coquillett, D. kuntzei Duda, 1924 and G. distigma Meigen, 1830 are new records for fauna of Sakartvelo (Georgia...

Monoctenus lechkhumensis sp.n. is described from Georgia, Dogurashi and compared to Monoctenus nipponicus Takeuchi, 1940.

We present an annotated check-list of Pteromalidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) from Sakartvelo (the Republic of Georgia), updating the available information of these parasitoids. We identified 22 species belonging to 17 genera from 9 subfamilies – Asaphinae, Cero­cephalinae, Cleonyminae, Miscogastrinae, Pteromalinae and Spalangiinae. One species, P...

During field surveys in Georgia, in the 2019 and 2020 growing seasons, we investigated hazelnut orchards in four regions of Georgia: Achara, Guria, Samegrelo and Kakheti for Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) – Halyomorpha halys (Stål)(Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). Additionally, we conducted surveys in apple and peach orchards in the Kartli and Kakheti...

Un inventaire des cochenilles et de leurs parasitoïdes a été entrepris sur plantes ornementales. Un réseau de collecteurs a été mis en place dans plusieurs régions françaises, notamment, en Provence-Alpes-Côte-D'azur. 57 espèces de cochenilles et plus de 40 espèces d'hyménoptères parasitoïdes ont été déterminées, parmi lesquelles plusieurs ont été...

A plain langauge 2 page overview of the paper "Opportunities to reduce pollination deficits and address production shortfalls in an important insect-pollinated crop" designed for non-acedemic audiences (or very busy acedemics). Please feel free to pass this along.

Pollinators face multiple pressures and there is evidence of populations in decline. As demand for insect‐pollinated crops increases, crop production is threatened by shortfalls in pollination services. Understanding the extent of current yield deficits due to pollination and identifying opportunities to protect or improve crop yield and quality th...

In this publication, new distributional records are given for 268 species of the family Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera) from Georgia, mainly from Northwestern parts of the country. 149 of the species are new records for the Georgian fauna, and 103 species have not been reported from the Caucasus region before. Three species, Barichneumon nigroscutellat...

Microterys turanicus Sugonjaev, 1965 (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) is added to the fauna of the Czech Republic and the whole of Europe on the basis of a record from the Moravskoslezské Beskydy Mts, Morávka (North Moravia, NE Czech Republic). The distribution and biology are reviewed and notes on the identification of the species are given along with il...

A checklist of rove beetles recorded from the Republic of Dagestan (221 species) is given, with 47 new records from this region. The genus Oedichirus Erichson, 1839 (Oedichirus rubronotatus Pic, 1903) and species Stenus turk Puthz, 1972 are new additions to the fauna of Russia. Two new synonyms are established: Xantholinus dagestanicus Bordoni, 201...

Contexte - Les plantes ornementales abritent et alimentent un grand nombre d’espèces de cochenilles, que ce soit dans les jardins/ espaces verts, les collections botaniques ou les exploitations horticoles ornementales. C’est la raison pour laquelle les partenaires de l’UMT Fiorimed ont piloté de janvier 2017 à décembre 2019, le projet Cochorti, fin...

The world species of the microgastrine genus Paroplitis (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) are revised. Three new species are described, P. horticola Fujie & Fernandez-Triana, sp. nov. and P. japonicus Fujie & Fernandez-Triana, sp. nov. from Japan and P. kakhetiensis Fujie, Japoshvili & Fernandez-Triana, sp. nov. from Georgia. P. vietnamensis van Achterberg...

Leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is one of the most numerous and most studied groups of insects all over the world. The paper represents renewed checklist of Chrysomelidae in Georgia. Our study revealed that 407 taxa belonging to 74 genera are currently known from Sakartvelo (Georgia). The provincial distributions are given based on availab...

Based on morphological and molecular evidence, the European fairyfly Herulia sundholmi Hedqvist syn. n. (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) is removed from previous synonymy with the Nearctic Macrocamptoptera metotarsa (Girault), and synony-mised with the Palaearctic M. grangeri Soyka, which is newly recorded from Georgia, Slovakia and Spain. Macrocamptoptera...

Species are often presumed to be apparent in nature, but in practice they may be difficult to recognise, especially when viewed across continents rather than within a single site. Coalescent-based Poisson-tree-process (PTP) models applied to fast-evolving genes promise one quantitative criterion for recognising species, complete with the estimates...

This paper presents the fourth contribution to the knowledge of the entomofauna of a village of Belgian Famenne. It deals with the group of Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera : Chalcididae, Encyrtidae, Eulophidae, Eupelmidae, Eurytomidae, Leucospidae, Megastigmidae, Mymaridae, Perilampidae, Pteromalidae, Tetracampidae, Torymidae). Faunistic data of 150 spec...

The rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) are one of the most diverse families of beetles comprising more than 63650 species worldwide (Irmler et al. 2018). It is the best studied coleopteran family in Georgia (Herman, 2001; Schülke & Smetana, 2015), with more than 750 species recorded (Tarkhnishvili & Chaladze, 2019). The first records of Staph...

Surveys of the scale insect fauna of East Georgia were carried out in vegetation season (from March to November) during the years 2017 and 2018. A total of fifty-five apple orchards were studied in Kartli and Kakheti regions; 7 of them in Kakheti region and 48 in Shida Kartli region (Gori, Kareli). In Shida Kartli, most apple orchards had been spra...

A new species, Amaurobius caucasicus sp. n., is described based on the holotype male and two male paratypes from Eastern Georgia. A similar species, A. hercegovinensis Kulczyński, 1915, known only from the original description is redescribed. The taxonomic status of Amaurobius species considered as nomina dubia and species described outside the Hol...

One new record for Iberian peninsula Leptomastix algirica Trjapitzin and three new records: Metaphycus dispar (Mercet), M. maculipennis (Timberlake) and Microterys dichrous (Mercet) for Portugal are given.

The aim of the present study was to investigate species diversity and distribution of Aphelinus species in an elevational gradient in the Lagodekhi Reserve (Sakartvelo - Georgia) throughout a growing season. Two species of Aphelinus Dalman, 1820 (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae), A. humilis Mercet and A. thomsoni Graham, are recorded for the first time fr...

In the present study, which is based on the material collected from Southern part of Caspian Sea, Iran during 2013-2016, one parasitoid species of the genus Coccobius Ratzeburg was identified as Coccobius pistacicolus (Yasnosh, 1968) (Hym: Aphelinidae). This species, which is reported for the first time from Iran, was collected in Rasht, Guilan pro...

A b s t r a c t : In this survey, we present distributional data for 369 wasps of the family Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera) collected in several Malaise traps at different altitudes at Mount Lagodekhi, Sakartvelo (Georgia), during the whole collection season of 2014. 313 species of Ichneumonidae are new for the fauna of Georgia, 209 are reported from...

A correction to an oversight in a recently published checklist of Iranian species of Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea) is presented, along with recommended amendments, resulting in 173 species belonging to 51 genera.

In this study a survey for determining the parasitoid complex of Planococcus ficus (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Pseudococcidae) was conducted in Adana and Mersin Provinces, Turkey. Five primary, two primary/secondary, two secondary parasitoid species associated with P. ficus, were found. Clausenia josefi Rosen and Chartocerus kurdjumovi (Nik...

The description and illustrations of a new species, Anagyrus planococci sp. n. (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Encyrtidae), reared from Planococcus ficus (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) on Vitis vinifera L. in southern Iran are presented. The species is closely related to Anagyrus luci Noyes & Hayat, 1994 and A. albatus Myartseva, 1982. http://w...

In the largest systematic spider collection effort in a single location in the Caucasus Ecoregion, across several altitudinal zones and throughout the entire vegetation period of one year, 426 juvenile and 359 adult spiders belonging to 69 species from 48 genera and 19 families were collected in the Lagodekhi Reserve, Georgia, in 2014, using Malais...

Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura, 1931) (Diptera: Drosophilidae), an agricultural pest originating from Southeast Asia, has been recorded for the first time in the Caucasus and may threaten crops within the region. In 2016, two introduced species, the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug – Halyomorpha halys Stal (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) and the Buxus moth – Cy...

We studied scorpionflies of Lagodekhi Reserve for the first time. Three species were recorded from the area, Panorpa similis Esben-Petersen, P. connexa McLachlan, and P. arcuata (Navás). Seasonal activity is also studied

All three species classified in Hyperteles Förster, 1856 (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) are recorded from Georgia. Hyperteles luteus (Ratzeburg, 1848) and H. collega (Ratzeburg, 1844) are recorded from Transcaucasia and from Georgia for the first time. A diagnosis of the genus is provided to distinguish it from other genera belonging to subfamily Tetras...

Three species parasitoids of Gossyparia spuria (Modeer) (Hemiptera: Acanthococcidae) have been recorded from Eastern Anatolia, two of them Coccophagus gossyparia Gahan and C. excelsus Erdos (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) are new for Turkey. Coccophagus excelsus is new to the Middle East, and has previously been recorded from Hungary, Poland and Romania...

The Georgian (Sakartvelo) species of Centrodora Forster, 1878 (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) have been collected from the Lagodekhi Protected Areas and three species (C. salicis, C. ochrura, C. dorsati) are recorded for the first time from Georgia and the Caucasus.

The study of the family Encyrtidae at the Natural History Museum of Oslo continues. In this revision, eight species are reported for the first time from Norway, bringing the total number of Norwegian encyrtids up to 151. Bothriothorax koponeni Khlopunov, 1984 is reported for the first time outside Finland, and Syrphophagus subviridis (Hoffer, 1970)...

The species Coccophagus shillongensis was described in 1989 by Hayat and Singh (Colemania, 5, 29–34, 1989) from India. There were no records about the host insect species and its host plant. Our record from Greece is the first record of this species outside of India and from Europe. The host record is also new, and the morphological variation was c...

An updated checklist of Iranian Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea) is presented based on literature records from 1947–2016. The current list includes 159 species representing 48 genera. Parasitoid-host associations in Iran and distributional data are also provided. Twelve encyrtid species (7.55%) are known only from Iran but a high number of sp...

An illustrated description of Clubiona caucasica sp. n., which is closely related to C. caerulescens L. Koch, 1867 is provided. The new species is found in the Caucasus (Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia) and in Turkey (one locality). http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:4C8851E2-CBBC-42E6-8600-585E757C9043

European species of the genus Anaprostocetus Graham, 1987 – A. acuminatus (Ratzeburg, 1848) is reported as a new record for Transcaucasia (Georgia).

Leaf beetles of Lagodekhi National Park have been studied for the first time. Thirty two species were recorded from the area of which 14 are new for Georgia, 1 genus and 8 species are new to Transcaucasus. Together with the additional 16 species that were already known from literature, a total of 48 chrysomelid species for Lagodekhi reserve is list...

Thirty-eight species are recorded from the Lagodekhi reserve. Three genera (Ixodiphagus Howard, 1907, Metablasthothrix Sugonjaev, 1964 and Protyndarichoides Noyes, 1980) and twenty-two species are newly recorded for Caucasus and 9 species are recorded for the first time from Georgia, for a total of 31 new records for Georgia. Descriptions and illus...

Coleoptera diversity was investigated at Golcuk Natural Park, Isparta, Turkey. Thirty four families of Coleoptera were recorded during the survey. Coleopterans were most abundant in a site close to an old apple orchard where 33% of all sampled individuals were found. Less frequently recorded families were found in a site close to the main entrance...

The elevational gradient in biodiversity, i.e. the decrease in species richness with increasing altitude, is well established in ecology. Here, we examined the respective gradient of parasitic hymenopterans (Encyrtidae) and plants in the Lagodekhi National Park (Country of Georgia) across an elevational gradient from 665 m to 2559 m a.s.l. by means...

The Scale Insects, infraorder Coccomorpha (Hemiptera: Sternorryncha) include many agricultural pests. The latest check list of scale insects of Sakartvelo (Republic of Georgia) was published in 2008, but it contained species mostly from the city of Tbilisi. In this study an updated check list of scale insects of Sakartvelo with 242 species is prese...

The essential ecosystem service of pollination is provided largely by insects, which are considered threatened by diverse biotic and abiotic global change pressures. RNA viruses are one such pressure, and have risen in prominence as a major threat for honey bees (Apis mellifera) and global apiculture, as well as a risk factor for other bee species...

Community composition of local pollinator assemblages, population dynamics and distribution patterns of many species are still poorly known, especially in little studied regions like Transcaucasia. We generated a total of 189 DNA barcodes from bees collected in 14 apple orchards in central and eastern Georgia to extend our knowledge of their distri...

Two genera, Coelopencyrtus Timberlake, 1919 and Mayrencyrtus Hincks, 1944, are reported here for the first time from Transcaucasia. Fourteen new records of encyrtid species from Georgia are reported. Except for 4 species (Bothriothorax aralius (Walker, 1837); B. clavicornis (Dalman, 1820); B. trichops Thomson, 1876; and Cheiloneurus submuticus Thom...