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Background: Bed bugs are blood-feeding insects and are an important urban pest. Bed bugs are nocturnal insects and hide in cracks in walls and beds during the day. The study aims to: (1) determine the bed bugs species that infest Iraq, their infestation source, and their distribution; (2) determine the level of awareness and concern regarding bed bugs among the Iraqi community. Methods: Between 2020 and 2021, a survey of bed bug infestation dynamics was conducted in 18 infested sites located in major cities across eight governorates. The 23-item online survey was distributed over social media to Iraqi citizens between June and July 2022 to survey on their familiarity with bed bug habitat, medical significance, transmission, prevention, control measures, and concerns. Results: There were a total of 1104 bed bugs collected. Based on the morphological characteristics, bed bugs collected from eight Iraqi governorates are identified as Cimex hemipterus. Besides, a high rate of bed bug infestation was observed in workers' dormitories. The online questionnaire was answered by 1843 respondents and based on the feedback, most respondents (55.3%) have no awareness of bed bug infestations, while around 43.8% are somewhat concerned about bed bug infestations in Iraq. Conclusion: Only tropical bed bugs, C. hemipterus were found in all sampled sites. Bed bug infestations are mainly caused by migrant workers and the reuse of second-hand furniture and clothing. The results suggest that the Iraqi government should organize more proper demonstrations on bed bug awareness for the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was survey and diagnose crown gall disease on Ficus sp. in some orchards in two provinces Babylon and Karbala of Iraq. The survey results of Ficus trees show that the percentage of infection ranged between 90-91%. The results of isolation from Ficus trees provide the appearance of individual pure colonies to Agrobacterium tumefaciens used by biochemical and physiological tests, the diagnosis was confirmed by PCR Technique. Pathogenicity test show tumours of Crown gall on the Ficus sp. plant. This study was a first report of A. tumefaciens on fig trees in Karbala and Babylon provinces, Iraq. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The uptake of silicon ( Si) by plants is known to reinforce plant tissues against invertebrate herbivores, but whether there is also direct antibiosis from ingesting Si remains in question. To investigate for antibiotic effects, Si-bearing minerals, wollastonite ( CaSiO3) or olivine ( Mg/FeSiO3), were added to artificial diets as finely ground powders (40-50 μm) before or after acidulation to determine whether Si-reduced larval growth. Newly hatched H elicoverpa armigera ( Hübner, 1808) and H . punctigera ( Wallengren, 1860) ( Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) were placed onto the diets and weighed once the larvae on the control diet had completed feeding (day12 for H . armigera; day 14 for H . punctigera: 25.5° C). Acidulated olivine at rates of 0.4-1.7% Si w/dw (weight Si/dry weight of diet) reduced larval weight of H . armigera by 95-99% compared with control diets. Non-acidulated olivine also appeared to cause a decline in larval weight. Wollastonite at rates of up to 3.3% Si had no significant effect on larval weight whether acidulated or not. A similar effect was observed for H . punctigera. Very few insects survived to emergence on diets containing the higher rates of acidulated olivine. Olivine contains quantities of heavy metals, particularly nickel, cobalt and chromium, which can be toxic to insects. Given the lack of toxicity when Si was included as wollastonite compared with similar quantities as olivine, the heavy metals are implicated as the antibiotic agents. Acidulation increased the toxicity of olivine probably by rendering the metals more biologically active. The results of this bioassay do not support the hypothesis that Si is directly antibiotic to H elicoverpa spp. via ingestion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]