Variation of host plant-associated populations of Dubas bug, Ommatissus lybicus de Bergevin (Hem.: Tropiduchidae) in southern Iran

Dubas bug, Ommatissus lybicus de Bergevin (Hem.: Tropiduchidae), is a key pest of date palms in Iran.This pest was first reported on date palms in 1966 and has been established throughout the date producing regions in southern Iran since. Date palm is the only host plant of Dubas bug. It attacks almost all date palm varieties, esp. Mazafati variety in city of Bam, Kerman Province and other varieties such as Halilei and Karoot. Using geometric morphometric method on forewings, we studied the morphological characters of host-associated populations of this pest. Adult Dubas bugs were collected on three varieties of date palms, Phoenix dactylifera L., including: Mazafati, Halilei and Karoot from Bam in 2015. For the analysis of wing shape and wing size, MANOVA and ANOVA were done, respectively. An allometric analysis was performed on the shape and size variables. The results of MANOVA indicated a significant difference (P0.05). The regression of shape on the size variables showed no significant allometric growth (P >0.05). The UPGMA tree, based on the Mahalanobis distances matrix, detected two distinct groups: the first group was a population feeding on the Mazafati variety with narrow wing shapes, and the second were populations feeding on Halilei and Karoot varieties with wide and shorter wing shapes. The observed forewing shape of individuals in population feeding on the Mazafati variety may change their flight abilities, and other biological aspects, such as survival.