Shurooq Abdullah Najim(1)*, Hussain Ali Mahdi(2), and Dawod Salman Hamid(2)
(1)Department of Ecology, College of Science , University of Basrah , Iraq.
(2) Plant protection department, College of Agriculture, University of Basrah, Iraq.
(*corresponding author: Dr. shurooq Najim, E-mail: shurooq.najim@uobasrah.edu.iq)
Received: 4/04/2021 Accepted: 4/09/2022
Abstract:
The ladybirds which belonging to a family Coccinellidae are important predators that feed on insects, especially some agricultural pests .In view of the importance of these types of predators, the current research was conducted as a comprehensive survey for different regions of Basra province, the samples were collected using sweeping nets and hand collection from the wetland environment (East Hammar Marsh), desert lands (Safwan and Zubair) and agricultural areas (Shatt Al-Arab and Abu Al-Khasib), during the period from 1st. January to 1st. June, 2021. During the study period, 6 species of ladybirds were recorded, belonging to 6 genera and from different plant families, the frequency rate of the species was as follows: Coccinella septempunctata,; Coccinella novemnotata,; Coccinella undecimpunctata,; Hippodamia tredecimpunctata,; Stethorus spp.; Harmonia spp. The host plant of each species of insects; main preys and environmental conditions (temperature; relative humidity) for each station of study were recorded.
Keywords: Ladybird, predators, Coccinella, Stethorus, Harmonia, Basrah, Iraq.
Full paper in English: pdf