Species Composition, Natural Enemies, and Population Density of Pests in Greenhouse Banana Plantations of the Western Mediterranean Region of Türkiye

Banana (<i>Musa</i> spp.) is an economically important crop whose relevance is steadily increasing in greenhouse-based production systems. This study aimed to determine pest and natural enemy species, and pest population densities in greenhouse banana fields in the Western Mediterranean Region of Türkiye. Periodic studies were conducted every 15 days in 2.4 hectares for two consecutive years (2022-2023), while nonperiodic studies covered 128.9 hectares. Species were collected through visual inspection, sticky traps, and plant sampling. Seventeen pest species from four orders and eight families were recorded: <i>Frankliniella intonsa</i> (Trybom 1895), <i>Thrips hawaiiensis</i> (Morgan), <i>Thrips tabaci</i> Lindeman <i>Hercinothrips femoralis</i> (Reuter), <i>Pentalonia nigronervosa</i> Coquerel, <i>Rhopalosiphum maidis</i> (Fitch), <i>Brachycaudus helichrysi</i> (Kaltenbach), <i>Tetranychus turkestani</i> Ugarov & Nycolsky, <i>Tetranychus urticae</i> Koch, <i>Spodoptera littoralis</i> (Boisduval), <i>Bemisia tabaci</i> (Gennadius), <i>Aleyrodes</i> sp., <i>Planococcus citri</i> (Risso), <i>Dysmicoccus brevipes</i> (Cockerell), <i>Ceroplastes rusci</i> (L.), <i>Coccus hesperidum</i> L., and <i>Chrysomphalus aonidum</i> (L.). Twenty-two natural enemies from six orders and thirteen families were identified. This study also provides the first Turkish records of parasitoid <i>Coccophagus shillongensis</i> Hayat and Singh from <i>C. hesperidum</i> and <i>Encarsia aurantii</i> (Howard) from <i>C. aonidum</i>. The data showed that spider mites were the most abundant pests, while phytoseiid mites were their most abundant natural enemies. This study represents an important contribution to the scarce literature on insect and mite fauna associated with banana greenhouses in the Western Mediterranean Region. The findings are expected to contribute to the development of effective and sustainable pest management strategies for greenhouse banana production.