Bulletin of the Iraq Natural History Museum

Thirty three specimens of the blue-cheeked bee-eater were collected at central and southern
Iraq from April 1997 to October 2000. Two nematodes Hadjelia truncata and Syphaciella
capensis, were recovered from the alimentary tract. Reporting these two nematodes represents
the first record for Iraq as well as a new host record.

Sarcophaga africa Fall. considered to be medical and veterinary importance, therefore, its third larval instar was described by digital camera under compound and dissecting microscope. This description includes spines type, shaped and cephalopharyngeal skeleton. Furthermore the anterior and posterior spiracles were also studied.

Some methods recommended abroad to control the oriental hornet, Vespa orientalis L.,
attacking the honey bee, Apis mellifera L., colonies were tested, with some modifications, for
the first time under the Iraqi conditions. One of these methods was carried out by covering the
hive entrance with a piece of queen excluder to prevent the hornet from entering the hive.
Also, the position of hive stand was reversed to deprive the hornet from using the flight board
as a stage for waiting and creeping toward the defending bees. The second method was
carried out by fixing a cardboard cone as a bee passage at the hive entrance to hinder the entry
of the hornet into the hive. Both of these methods were found to be unsuccessful to control the
hornet. Also, the use of vinegar traps had an adverse effect, for only worker honey bees and
dipterous insects, rather than the hornets, were trapped in large numbers.

Keys for 22 species representing ten genera Thripidae collection carried out during 1999-2001 in different localities in the middle of Iraq. Of them four species are described as new to science, Frankliniella megacephala sp. nov; Retithrips bagdadensis sp. nov; Chirothrips imperatus sp. nov; Taeniothrips tigridis sp. nov; Another thirteen species are recorded for the first time in Iraq; Thrips meridionalis (Pri.); Microcephalothrips abdominils (Crawford);Scolothrips pallidus (Beach); Scritothrips mangiferae Pri.; Frankliniella tritici Bagnall;Frankliniella schultzie Trybom; Frankliniella unicolor Morgan; Retithrips aegypticus Marchal; Retithrips javanicus Mayet; Taeniothrips gowdeyi (Bagnall); Chirothrips meridionalis Bagnall; Chirothrips me10icanus Crawford; Chirothrips hamatus Trybom; and four species reported previously for Iraq; Thrips tabaci Lindeman; Retithrips syriacus Mayet;Parascolothrips priesneri Mound; Anaphothrips sudanensis Trybom; Scolothrips se10maculatus (Pergande), on different plants.

This work deals with the nematode parasitesfrom the midgut of (16) specimens of Green
toad (Bufo viridis) Laurenti, 1768 collected from Baghdad area,central Iraq.
The parasites are:Cosmocercoides variabilis (Cosmocercidae) that considered as the first
report in Iraq on it and Oswaldocruzia filiformis (Molineidae).

The present paper is very important for study of biodiversity of Iraq , to know how the
changes going and how the laughing dove S. senegalensis was a rare species in Iraq and now
is common and also the (baz) gosh hawk A. gentilis is common and the most famous 6rd of
pray in Iraq, till now missing from ornithologist and bird watcher to record it -

This study includes a detailed morphological description of Cosmina baghdadensis sp. nov. from Iraq. Many characters are used in identification especially chaetotaxy and male genetalia. Locality, host plant, and data of collection were given.