Elahe Shiran - Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Iran.
Mohammad Saeed Mossadegh - Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Iran.
Mehdi Esfandiari - Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Iran.

Ants consume or store the honeydew which is secreted by aphids or other homopteran insects. Major benefit of ant attendance for aphids is protection against natural enemies. A study was carried out during ۲۰۰۹-۲۰۱۰, to determine the mutualistic association between ants and aphids on different host plants in some parts of Khuzestan and Esfahan provinces. A total of ۲۰ ant species belonging to ۱۲ genera and ۳ subfamilies were collected and identified. Among them, four species are new to Iranian ant fauna as follows: Monomorium libanicum Tohme; Monomorium qarahe Collingwood & Agosti; Monomorium mayri Forel and Lasius paralienus Seifert. The collected myrmecophilous aphids were ۳۳ species belonging to ۳ families and ۵ subfamilies. Details and mechanisms of such associations between ants and aphids are unknown to us. More detailed investigations are needed in each case to adequately understand them.

Iran, Khuzestan, mutualism, ant, Aphid, Esfahan