DIVERSITY, STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION OF SCALE INSECTS POPULATIONS (HOMOPTERA: COCCOIDEA) ON CITRUS IN KABYLIA, ALGERIA

Ten species of mealybugs (Homoptera, Coccoidea) were inventoried in Kabylia on various citrus species, which are: lemon, Clementine, Thomson orange and washingtonorange during two-years, from March 2014 to March 2016. They belong to the four families: the Diaspididae, the Coccidae, the Pseudococcidae and the Margarodidae. This study allowed us to demonstrate the presence of a new species of cochineal (Coccidae: Coccus pseudomagnoliarumKuwana) in Algeria and also to report for the first time in Algeria the presence of Ceroplastesrusci on citrus. The relative abundance calculated for the families and the inventoried species showed a strong dominance of the Diaspididaefamilly with (90.3%) and Parlatoriaziziphi is the pest species that predominates in Kabylia with an average of 76.3% followed by Aonidiellaaurantii with an average of 7.3%. The application of ecological concepts on the populations of mealybugs in our study is the first in Algeria. Equal distribution of cochineal species is minimal, which shows that Parlatoriaziziphi is an omnipresent or dominant species and that Ceroplastesrusci is a very rare species on citrus and sometimes accidental.