NATURAL ENEMIES OF MAJOR INSECT PESTS IN SALALAH, SULTANATE OF OMAN

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Plant Protection Research Institute, Agricultural Research Centre, Dokki, Giza, Egypt

2 Agricultural Research Station, Salalah, Sultanate of Oman

Abstract

A survey on natural enemies of major insect pests infesting vege­table and field crops as well as fruit trees and ornamentals was carried out during the period from March 1994 to February 1995 in Salalah. Such pests included four species of mealybugs; the wax scale, Ceroplastes rubens; the potato-tuber moth, Phtharimaea operculelfa, the sweet potato moth, Hydriris oratalis; the diamond-back moth, Plutella xy­bostella; the American bollworm, Heliothis armigera and the beet army-worm; Spodoptera exigua. Most of natural enemies obtained in this study are considered first record in Oman. These are about 13 parasitoid spe­cies of the familes Braconidae, Eulophidae, Encyrtidae, Aphelinidae and Tachinidae, and about 14 predatory species of the families Coccienelli­dae, Staphelinidae, Cecidomyiidae, Syrphidae, Chrysopidae, Hemerobii­dae, Anthocoridae, Geocoridae and Nabidae.