Biological control of Brontispa longissima in Western Samoa: An ecological and economic evaluation

et al. 2009

J Applied Entomology

We tested artificial diets for rearing the coconut hispine beetle, Brontispa longissima, a serious invasive pest of coconut (Cocos nucifera) in Southeast Asia. We examined three artificial diets that were identical except for their agar content. The survival rate from hatching to adult emergence was 26.0% when beetles were reared on a ‘soft diet’ (20 g/l agar), 16.0% on a ‘hard diet’ (40 g/l agar), and 41.0% on a ‘mixed diet’, in which the hard diet was used for the first instar and the soft diet for later instars. Females raised as larvae on the mixed diet and then as adults on the soft diet laid few eggs, which did not hatch. However, females reared on the mixed diet as larvae and then on fresh leaves as adults consistently laid eggs that hatched. We then examined the suitability of B. longissima larvae reared on the mixed diet as hosts for the larval parasitoid Asecodes hispinarum, a specialist parasitoid of this beetle. Of the oviposited hosts, 75.0% became mummified and 41.7% produced adult wasps. These results indicate that the mixed diet may be useful for rearing B. longissima larvae as hosts for the rearing of A. hispinarum.

“…2008). This parasitoid was introduced into Western Samoa from Papua New Guinea in 1982, and populations of B. longissima subsequently decreased (Voegele 1989). Lu et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Artificial diets for rearing the coconut hispine beetle Brontispa longissima and its parasitoid Asecodes hispinarum

Ichiki

Dung

et al. 2009

J Applied Entomology

“…Brontispa longissima seems to move for long distances by importation of palm seedlings because of its weak flight ability (Cohic ; Chiu et al . ; Voegele ; Nakamura et al . ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative developmental and reproductive biology of geographical populations from two cryptic species in Brontispa longissima (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Takasu

Murata

et al. 2013

Entomological Science

Brontispa longissima is a serious pest of the coconut palm Cocos nucifera, presumed to have originated in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. It recently invaded Southeast and East Asia, where outbreaks have been reported. Mitochondrial DNA analysis reveals two cryptic species in B. longissima: one is distributed over a wide area including Asia and the Pacific region (the Asian clade) and the other in a limited area in the Pacific region (the Pacific clade). Recent invasions and outbreaks have been reported only from the area where the Asian clade has been found, suggesting that this clade has become a pest in Asia. To infer if the Asian clade has the ability to establish, spread and outbreak in novel habitats more effectively than the Pacific clade, we compared life‐history traits between the two populations of different clades. The net reproduction rate (R0) was 130.0 and 94.0, the mean length of a generation (T) was 57.7 and 54.7 days, and the intrinsic rate of natural increase (r) was 0.084 and 0.083 per day for the population from Ishigaki Island, Japan (ISH) (the Asian clade) and for the population from Papua New Guinea (PNG) (the Pacific clade), respectively. Although the difference in r was little, the simulated population growth showed that the ISH population can be 1.6 times larger than that of the PNG after ten generations. The rapid population growth of the Asian clade would be partly responsible for its establishment, spread and frequent outbreaks in Asia.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…One of the most promising natural enemies is the larval parasitoid, Asecodes hispinarum Bouček (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), which is native to Papua New Guinea (Bouček, 1988;Voegele, 1989). After this parasitoid was introduced into Western Samoa in the early 1980s, the population of B. longissima decreased (Voegele, 1989). Successful biological control of the beetle was also achieved by using the pupal parasitoid, Tetrastichus brontispae Ferrière (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) on Celebes (Lever, 1969), Tahiti and the Solomon Islands (Stapley, 1973).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of constant and fluctuating temperatures on development of the coconut hispine beetle,Brontispa longissima(Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) and two species of parasitoid

Htwe

Murata

Biocontrol Science and Technology

et al. 2013

The larval parasitoid Asecodes hispinarum Bouček has been used to control the coconut hispine beetle, Brontispa longissima (Gestro) in Vietnam. Although A. hispinarum has succeeded in suppressing B. longissima in southern Vietnam, biocontrol has not succeeded in central Vietnam. One factor underlying this failure might be the high temperature during the hot season. In the present work, we examined whether A. hispinarum parasitises the beetles within the range of temperatures that occur during the hot season in central Vietnam and we evaluated the potential use of the pupal parasitoid Tetrastichus brontispae Ferrière. Development of the beetle and two parasitoids was investigated at two constant temperatures (28 and 308C) and at fluctuating temperatures from 25 to 358C (corresponding to temperatures during the hot season in central Vietnam). B. longissima reached adulthood in all the temperature treatments. More than 70% of A. hispinarum emerged from hosts at 288C, but none emerged at 308C or under fluctuating temperature conditions, indicating that A. hispinarum cannot be used as a biological control agent in central Vietnam. However, T. brontispae could reproduce the next generation at all temperatures. These results suggest that T. brontispae is a potential agent for continuous biological control of B. longissima in central Vietnam.