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.
Author notes
Centre for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary and Department of Plant Sciences, Albert Kázmér Faculty of Mosonmagyaróvár, Széchenyi István University Győr, Hungary.
Department of Agricultural Sciences, Laboratory of Ecosystems Diversity and Agricultural Production Systems Dynamics in Arid Zones (DEDSPAZA), Mohamed Khider University, Biskra, Algeria.
Laboratory of Macrogen, Roissy, France.