Bioecological Study Of Wheat Insects In Mitidja (Algiers).

Doumandji-Mitiche Bahia and Mohand Kaci Hakima.
National agricultural Institute, El-Harrach, Algeria
E-mail: doumandjimitiche@yahoo.fr

Abstract

Wheat is the most important crop in Algeria, since it is the major food source for the population. The present study aimed to survey the parasites and insect pests of this crop. The study was carried out in the Mitidja region situated in the north of the country, and is characterized by conditions favourable for most insect species. Three stations were selected: Oud Smar, Rouiba and Boudouaou. Color traps, luminous traps and bury pots were used in the survey. The recovery of trap catches continued every 15 days during 2001 and this permitted to identify 182 species belonging to 11 orders: Thysanoptera, Blattoptera, Dermaptera, Orthoptera, Heteroptera, Homoptera, Coleoptera, Nevroptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera and Diptera. The most important order was Coleoptera, where 69 species in 23 families were recorded. Boudouaou’s station was the richest with 123 species. Finally, among caught insects, the most important were Sitobium avenae, Rhopalosiphum padi and Anthicus instabilis, and among the predatory species, Coccinella algerica and Hippodamia variegate were the most common.