The Genus Hypothenemus, with Emphasis on H. hampei, the Coffee Berry Borer

A Mysterious Wing Spine in Male Coffee Berry Borers (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae)

“…Males are the offspring of a colonizing female that bores into a coffee berry and deposits her eggs within galleries in the endosperm. The offspring exhibits a skewed sex ratio favoring females, and males are smaller than females (Vega et al 2015), have reduced compound eyes (Vega et al 2014), have vestigial wings (size in mm:  0.29 ± 0.009 (n = 9);  2.18 ± 0.42 (n = 9); also see Corbett 1933) and in contrast to females, never leave the berry (Vega et al 2015). Due to the close proximity of males and females within the confines of the coffee berry, use of the spine for stridulation and for revealing the position of the scarce males, might have become unnecessary.…”

“…Fernando E. Vega 1* , Ann Simpkins 1 , Gary Bauchan 2 , Jorge M. Alfredo Castillo 4 and Francisco Infante 4 The coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), is the most important insect pest of coffee worldwide (Vega et al 2015). As part of a series of studies using low temperature-scanning electron microscopy (LT-SEM) aimed at further expanding our knowledge on the basic morphology of the insect, we noticed a remarkable reduction in the number of facets in the compound eyes of male vs female coffee berry borers (Vega et al 2014), and in this paper we report on an unusual structure in the hind wings of males.…”

Natural parasitism ofMetaparasitylenchus hypothenemi(Tylenchida: Allantonematidae) on the coffee berry borer in Chiapas, Mexico

“…This discovery was noteworthy because it increased the limited number of natural enemies attacking the coffee berry borer, the main insect pest of coffee worldwide (Vega, Infante, Castillo, & Jaramillo, 2009;Vega, Infante, & Johnson, 2015), and revealed the presence of endemic populations of a biological control agent in an area where the insect had been introduced. Even though several papers have reported on commercially available entomopathogenic nematodes (Steinernema or Heterorhabditis) infecting the coffee berry borer in the laboratory (Allard & Moore, 1989;Castillo & Marbán-Mendoza, 1996;Lara, López-Núñez, & Bustillo, 2004;Benavides, Quintero, & López, 2010;Manton, Hollingsworth, & Cabos, 2012), only one other record of a nematode attacking the insect under natural conditions exists: Panagrolaimus sp.…”

Two remarkable new species of Hypothenemus Westwood (Curculionidae: Scolytinae) from Southeastern USA

“…Individuals colonize the bark or pith of twigs, leaf petioles, vines, fruits and even live seeds (Vega et al 2015). Some even make short communal galleries in the nutrient-poor xylem and have adaptations similar to fungus-farming ambrosia beetles (Beaver 1986).…”

“…Hypothenemus Westwood, 1836 is the most speciose genus in the tribe Cryphalini (Curculionidae: Scolytinae), with 181 species described (Vega et al 2015). Of these, there are 23 species currently known from North America (Atkinson 2015).…”