Insect pests and predators inhabiting roselle plants, Hibiscus sabdariffa L., a medicinal plant in Egypt

Abstract

Incidence and faunistic composition of insect pests and the associated predators on roselle plants, Hibiscus sabdariffa L. have been studied during the 2002 and 2003 growing seasons in El-Kanater El-Khayria (about 30 km north Cairo), Kalubia governorate, Egypt. Fourteen phytophagous insect species and six insect predators were recorded. The dominance percentage of insect pests was found to be higher than those of the predators. The most dominant pests were the following piercing sucking insects Empoasca spp., Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green), Aphis gossypii Glover, Bemisia tabaci (Genn.), Oxycarenus hyalinipennis (Costa) and Earias insulana (Boisd.). However, the most dominant predators were Polistes sp., Orius spp., Coccinella undecimpunctata and Scymnus interruptus. Also, results exhibited distinct compatibility between the abundance of the above mentioned pests and their associated predators. These results may indicate the importance of the recorded predators on biological control agents in suppressing roselle pests and regulate their populations on the experimental medicinal plant.