Aphrophoridae as Potential Vectors of Xylella fastidiosa in Tunisia

• Published in: Insects (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2023-01, Vol.14 (2), p.119
• Main Authors: Boukhris-Bouhachem, Sonia, Souissi, Rebha, Abou Kubaa, Raied, El Moujabber, Maroun, Gnezdilov, Vladimir
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adults; Aphrophoridae; Aquatic plants; Auchenorrhyncha; Bacteria; Coffee; Disease; Epidemics; Flowers & plants; Food plants; Forests; Fruit trees; Grasslands; Insects; Laboratories; morphology; Neophilaenus campestris; nymph; Nymphs; Orchards; Ornamental plants; Pathogens; Philaenus tesselatus; Plant bacterial diseases; Plant diseases; Plant species; seasonal occurrence; Sonchus; Species; Vectors; Xylella fastidiosa; Xylem
• ISSN: 2075-4450; 2075-4450
• DOI: 10.3390/insects14020119

The present study is an update on the situation of potential vectors of in Tunisia. Investigations in nine Tunisian regions (Nabeul, Bizerte, Béja, Jendouba, Zaghouan, Kairouan, Ben Arous, Tunis and Manouba) from 2018 to 2021 allowed for the observation of 3758 Aphrophoridae among a total of 9702 Auchenorrhyncha individuals collected by sweep net. Four Aphrophoridae species were identified with as most abundant (62%), followed by (28%), (5%) and (5%). Aphrophoridae individuals were found to be particularly abundant in both forests of Nabeul and Jendouba, secondarily in olive groves and dry grassland. Furthermore, their distribution on weed hosts was followed in these two regions where nymphs and adults are widely distributed. appears to be the most abundant species as determined either by conventional sweep netting for adults or by plant sampling on and for nymphs. Limited numbers of adults of were detected by sweep netting, while nymphs of this species were found on only. was found in high numbers on plants belonging to the Poaceae family in forests, dry grassland and olive groves whereas occurred on herbs under or near olive trees and in dry grasslands.