Survey of Insects Associated with some Species of Cucurbitaceae in Iraq

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.


Introduction
Vegetables are a significant source of income for both small-scale and large-scale farmers.[1].Additionally, they play a crucial role in the human diet as a source of carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, and contain various trace elements.[2].Cucurbitaceae species are the most commonly consumed food for humans; they are a significant and large group of vegetables crops that are cultivated extensively in tropical and subtropical countries.The cucurbits contain cucumber, gourd, pumpkin, squash... etc.; all of them summer season crops; over than 90 genera belonging to 750 species within this family, but nine genera and 17 species are cultivated [3].Cucurbitaceae is a family of plants that are both medium-sized and highly specialized, with a focus on climbing plants [4].These Plants are known for their large fruits, which vary greatly in shape, color and size [5].
It has been mentioned that insect pests in the world consume enough food to sustain an extra one billion people, so recognizing them before an infestation can increase productivity [6].Cucurbit crops are attacked by several species of insect pests and related pests, including aphids, beetles, seedcorn maggots, squash bug and squash vine borer [7].Therefore, the infection of these pests causes significant economic losses, for example, the flies Dacus frontalis Becker, 1922 and D. ciliatus Loew, 1862, which belong to the Tephritidae family, cause losses that estimated at 67.91% for cucumber yield annually in the central regions of Iraq [8].This study was aimed to identify the harmful insects on Cucurbitaceae to purpose limiting its spread and using appropriate methods to control it.This survey was conducted in some regions of Iraq, as well the investigation is included the updating of species information and their distribution globally.

collecting insects
The insects were collected during the period from 1st .March.2022 to 30th.October 2022, which collected from several regions of Iraq that included: Baghdad, Babylon, Basra, Karbala, Wasit, Diyala, Saladin, and Duhok Provinces.Surveys were conducted in the cultivated and wild fields to investigate infestation in different plant parts, including roots, leaves and fruits belong to the plants of Cucurbitaceae.The sampling was accomplished using the forceps, aspirator, aerial and sweep nets; in addition, the infected leaves with miners and borers, and fruits were also collected to obtain insects.
As well as, the study included a review of the species that documented in the previous studies.According to species and size of the specimens, they preserved by alcohol 75%, drying and pinning, supported by locality information and host plant.

Results and Discussion
This investigation included 19 species from 17 genera, 5 orders, and 13 families.These taxa are summarized as follows:

Conclusion
We conclude from this survey that there are some insect pests that are in large numbers and are widespread, including leaf borers, which are economically important as they affect the productivity of leaves.Also, some pests have different hosts and in many stages of the life cycle.In conclusion, the species belonging to Family Tephritidae (Order Diptera), that included Dacus frontalis and D. ciliates were the most abundant pests in studied regions, especially Diyala, Wasit, and Baghdad Provinces, whereas Carpomya pardalina, which was the least specimens collected in the current investigation.In addition to, we recommend conducting a survey for the rest of the regions to identify the most harmful pests to Cucurbitaceae crops, with the activation of the Agricultural Quarantine Law among the Provinces.