Morphological and molecular characterisations of Orosius albicinctus (Distant, 1918)

ABSTRACT

Leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) are important agricultural pests and potential vectors of several viruses and phytoplasma diseases. The Chickpea chlorotic dwarf virus (CpCDV) is reported in Tunisia and is transmitted by leafhoppers. In order to identify potential insect species transmitting the virus in Tunisia, a survey was carried out during 3 years (2019–2021) in fields of tomatoes, pepper, melon, watermelon, and chickpea in six governorates (Tunis, Nabeul, Sousse, Monastir, Mahdia, and Kairouan). Morphological and molecular barcoding studies allowed identifying the leafhopper Orosius albicinctus (Distant, 1918) (Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae: Opsiini) on chickpeas, melon, a co-culture of watermelon and pepper, and on associated weeds (Solanum elaeagnifolium and Cynodon dactylon) in Kairouan and Mahdia. This is first record of this leafhopper species in Tunisia.

KEYWORDS:

• Orosius albicinctus
• morphological identification
• DNA barcoding
• Tunisia
• first record

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the PRIMA 2018_00090 Section 2 – GeMed Project and funded by the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MERST). Nihed Jerbi a PhD student was partially financed supported by GeMed MERST.