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14 March 2025 Morphological and Molecular Identification of Oryctes (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) Collected from Date Palm Plantations in Algeria
Sana Rais, Inesse Saadi, Jenő Kontschán, Belkacem Boumaraf, Kamel Guimeur, Habib Bouazzi
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Abstract

Light traps operated from May 2022 to August 2023 collected Oryctes beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) plantations in El Oued, Algeria. Morphological examination of 105 adult Oryctes specimens collected from the plantations revealed them to be Oryctes agamemnon arabicus (Fairmaire). Molecular identification, using the cytochrome oxidase c subunit I (COI) marker, confirmed those identifications. Notably, MASH analysis revealed differing degrees of genetic similarity, suggesting nuanced genetic diversity within the population. Utilizing Kraken2 software and the COI database from the National Center for Biotechnology Information, we also determined a high classification rate of approximately 99% of reads for all samples, reinforcing the identity of the specimens as O. agamemnon. These results help advance taxonomic knowledge of the insect fauna of the region as well as supporting environmental conservation initiatives.

Sana Rais, Inesse Saadi, Jenő Kontschán, Belkacem Boumaraf, Kamel Guimeur, and Habib Bouazzi "Morphological and Molecular Identification of Oryctes (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) Collected from Date Palm Plantations in Algeria," Journal of Entomological Science 60(2), 236-243, (14 March 2025). https://doi.org/10.18474/JES24-11
Received: 27 January 2024; Accepted: 13 February 2024; Published: 14 March 2025
KEYWORDS
Date Palm plantations
genetic diversity
molecular analysis
morphological identification
Oryctes species
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