Morphological and molecular identification of rust-red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst, 1797) (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae) in Basrah Governorate, Iraq
Athmar K. Khazal
, Dhia K. Kareem
, Amel S. Abdulredha
Abstract: This study aimed to determine the morphological and molecular characteristics of the red rusty flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst, 1797). Insects were collected from the stored food items. It included flour, rice, nuts, sugar, wheat grains, sesame, and oats from different areas within the Basra Governorate. It included the Shatt al-Arab, Al-Faw, Abu Al-Khaseeb, Safwan, Al-Madinah, Al-Qurna, and Al-Zubair districts. The collection also included homes in those areas, as well as local markets for the period from November 2023 to October 2024. The results showed differences in morphological characteristics that varied according to the collection area and the type of food material on which the insect was present. Molecular diagnosis was conducted for the insects, and the results showed that all patterns that showed differences in their morphological characteristics belonged to T. castaneum. It was registered in the NCBI gene bank for the first time from Basrah Governorate. The first morphism was assigned the genetic sequence number PQ219934.1. The second morphism was assigned the genetic sequence number PQ219935.1.
Keywords: molecular identification; morphological identification; mtCOX1; Tribolium castaneum (Herbst, 1797)
Citation: Khazal, A. K., Kareem, D. K. & Abdulredha, A. S. (2026). Morphological and molecular identification of rust-red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst, 1797) (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae) in Basrah Governorate, Iraq. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 32(3), 645–651
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| Date published: 2026-06-25
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