Community composition of ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) in citrus orchard in North-Eastern of Algeria

Abstract

Carabid beetles are natural enemies of insects pests and are weed seeds predators. They have been often used to study the ecological effects of different agricultural measures, because they are highly sensitive to habitat change. The Carabid beetle fauna is little known in Algeria, especially in agrosystems, thus we undertaken a study of this group of insects in citrus orchard located in the city of Guelma. Carabids were collected by pitfall trapping from december 2017 to may 2018. A total of 16 beetle species and 1072 individuals were recorded. The dominant species were consecutively as follows: Amara subconvexa , Brachinus sclopeta, Phyla rectangulum, Harpalus siculus and Percus lineatus. The data of the species traits as food preference and flying ability show that carnivorous and macropterous species dominate in the study area. The activity of the species was mainly observed during the spring period.