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The present paper highlighted the occurrence of Timarcha turbida (Erichson 1841) as an artichoke pest for the first time in Tunisian crops. In fact, Timarcha was never be reported previously to develop on a Compositae (Asteraceae) host plant. Here, larva and adult stages of the pest are described and host plants affinities in genus Timarcha are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gortyna xanthenes (Germar) and Depressaria erinaceella (Staudinger) are key pests of artichoke in Tunisia causing major losses. To this end, a 2-year field survey was carried out in order to assess possible damage caused by these two pests. The results showed that serious attacks were found on artichoke flower heads ranging from 17 to 26% and from 7 to 10% for D. erinaceella and G. xanthenes, respectively. On stems, damages caused by G. xanthenes may exceed 60%. Measures of the length of the larva and the width of head capsule in the laboratory showed the presence of six and seven instar larvae for G. xanthenes and D. erinaceella, respectively. These results could be very useful to develop effective management tools against artichoke pests in Tunisia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The names of the varieties cultivated in the two study regions were given wrongly in the Materials and Methods section. The correct names are as follows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]