title: Insects associated with Jatropha curcas Linn. (Euphorbiaceae) in west Niger.
abstract: Jatropha curcas has been introduced into Niger since 2004 by International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). This plant is cultivated for its oil, which can be used as a Biofuel. Through direct and indirect insect collection methods, an inventory of the insect associated with J. curcas has been conducted in Western Niger during two rainy seasons (from June to October) in 2010 and 2011. We have identified insects belonging to the following families: Acrididae (Oedaleus senegalensis Krauss, Oedaleus nigeriensis Uvarov, Heteracris leani Uvarov, Catantops stramineus Walker, Parga cyanoptera Uvarov, and Acanthacris ruficornis citrina Audinet-Serville), Pyrgomorphidae (Poekilocerus bufonius hieroglyphicus Klug), Cetoniidae (Pachnoda interrupta Olivier, Pachnoda marginata aurantia Herbst, Pachnoda sinuata Heinrich and McClain, and Rhabdotis sobrina Gory and Percheron), Meloidae (Decapotoma lunata Pallas), Pentatomidae (Agonoscelis versicoloratus Dallas, Nezara viridula Linn, and Antestia sp. Kirkaldy), Coreidae (Leptoglossus membranaceus Fabricius and Cletus trigonus Thunberg), and Scutelleridae (Calidea panaethiopica Kirkaldy). Origin and potential impact on J. curcas of all these insect species are presented and discussed. The lower insect's diversity indexes are observed in 2010 and 2011 for Niamey, Saga, and Gaya because of semi-arid character of the Sahelian area.
authors.affiliation: Institut National de Recherche Agronomique du Niger, BP 429, Niamey, Niger abdoulhabou_zakari@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Zakari Abdoul
authors.initials: ZA
authors.lastname: Habou
authors.affiliation: Faculté d'Agronomie, Université Abdou Moumouni de Niamey, BP 10960, Niamey, Niger.
authors.forename: Toudou
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Adam
authors.affiliation: Unité d'entomologie fonctionnelle et évolutive, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, Université de Liège, Passage des Déportés 2, B-5030 Gembloux, Belgium.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Haubruge
authors.affiliation: Unité de Phytotechnie et d'horticultures, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, Université de Liège, Passage des Déportés 2, B-5030 Gembloux, Belgium.
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mergeai
authors.affiliation: Unité d'entomologie fonctionnelle et évolutive, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, Université de Liège, Passage des Déportés 2, B-5030 Gembloux, Belgium.
authors.forename: François J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Verheggen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D056804:Biofuels; D018556:Crops, Agricultural; D007313:Insecta / Q000502:physiology*; D031286:Jatropha / Q000469:parasitology*; D009548:Niger
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels
keywords: Niger; Pourghère; Sahel area; insect; physic nut