Survey of Insects Associated with some Species of Cucurbitaceae in Iraq

Abstract

Due to the spread of insect pests that destroys the crops belonging to the Cucurbitaceae family and led to deterioration in crop productivity in Iraq due to various reasons, the most important of which is Climate fluctuation and extreme weather events have a major impact on this problem. So, this paper was proposed to identify those species pests and prevalence. Insects were collected during the period from March 1. 2022 to October 30, 2022 from the several regions of Iraq, including: Baghdad, Babylon, Basra, Karbala, Wasit, Diyala, Saladin, and Duhok Provinces. The results showed 19 important species under 17 genera with 13 families, and five orders. The most common synonyms and distribution of species, as well as the plant hosts were provided; and the scientific names have been corrected according to the recent references. The date and localities of the specimens’ collection were presented. In conclusion, the species of Dacus frontalis Beecker, 1922 and D. ciliates Loew, 1862 were the most abundant pests in studied regions, especially Diyala, Wasit, and Baghdad Provinces. In contrast to Carpomya pardalina (Bigot, 1891), which was the least prevalent among the recorded species.