Study of some biological parameters of the oil palm tree leaf miner, Coelaenomenodera lameensis (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae, Hispinae) in a semi-controlled environment

Abstract

The oil palm tree is the first source of fatty substances of vegetable origin in the world. However, its cultivation is strongly threatened by damage from Coelaenomenodera lameensis. The present study aimed at promotion a good knowledge of its biology in order to better manage its populations. Thus, some biological parameters of this pest were studied by means of cage breeding (September 2015-December 2017) on an plot ofLa Mé station of National Agronomic Research Center located 30 km North-East of Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire. The results revealed that the development of C. lameensis passes successively through stages egg, larva, nymph, internal adult and external adult stages. Also, the female lays an average of 137.48 ± 62.04 eggs and the number of individuals gradually decreases from egg stage to adult stage. The average life cycle length was 94.5 ± 7.94 days with a sex ratio of 1.34 ± 0.25 in favor of males. In addition, the mean lifespan was shorter in females than in males with respectively, 103.24 ± 10.25 days and 127.34 ± 21.41 days. All these parameters constitute potential indicators of C. lameensis biology and could help to put in place good strategies for control of its populations.