Study of the Biology of the Cochineal Scale Insect, Dactylopius opuntiae

Abstract

Alhousa, W., A.N. Basheer and Z. El-Naser. 2024. Study of the Biology of the Cochineal Scale Insect, Dactylopius opuntiae. Arab Journal of Plant Protection, 42(2): 143-148. https://doi.org/10.22268/AJPP-001240 Prickly pear cochineal Dactylopius opuntiae (Cockerell) is one of the most important pests of prickly pear Opuntia ficus-indica in different regions of the world. This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the biology of the insect on the Indian prickly pear plant. The work was carried out during the 2021 season, using a random design. Samples were collected from Qatana, Syria, and the biology of the insect was studied within a rearing room under controlled conditions (temperature 25±1°C, relative humidity 45±10%). The incubation period was evaluated in a cohort of 100 eggs and the life cycle was described from a cohort of 150 individuals. Individual females were used as experimental unit (n=40 females) to determine insect fecundity. The average egg laying period was 20.76±0.77 minutes, and the average period of the first nymph was 12.66±0.53 days in females, and 14.03±0.62 days in males, and the second nymph was 25.16±2.42 days for females, and 8.72±1.67 days for males. The average period for pre-pupal and pupal stage of males was 12.9±1.63 days, and the average period of one generation from egg laying until the appearance of the adult insect was 85.85±2.09 days for females, and 56.68±0.98 days for males. Average Fertility was 226.75 eggs/female, with daily egg laying average of 17.9±0.63 eggs/female. The maximum daily fertility average was 16.6±0.35 eggs, and the average hatching rate was 87.86±3.92%. Whereas, the average egg mortality rate ranged between 21.05 and 22.05% in the reptilian stage. Keywords: Biology, prickly pear, egg incubation, nymph, fertility.