INSECTS INHABITING SAFFLOWER AND THE ROLE OF PREDATORY INSECTS IN MANSOURA , EGYPT .

M.E. RAGAB
Plant Protection Dept., Fac. of Agric., Mansoura Univ. , Egypt .

ABSTRACT

Field studies were carried out for two successive seasons 1989 and 1990 to survey the main insects inhabiting safflower plants at Mansoura district, Egypt . The collected insects included 14 injurious and 16 beneficial species. The injurious species were affiliated to the following sex orders: Thysanoptera, Homoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Lepidoptera and Coleoptera, of which the first two orders were the main ones. Thrips tabaci Lind., Trypaneaeluta Meigen and Oxycarenus hyalinipennis Costa. were the main insects infesting safflower heads as indicated by their catch numbers. Insect predators recorded were eleven species, and Oriusalbidipennis Reut. was the most dominant one. The numbers, population fluctuations and ratios of the main injurious and predatory insects are presented. The role of predators in suppressing the poopulations of noxious insects was also discussed.

Key Words: Safflower, Carihamustinctorius L., Insect pests, Predatory insects.