Comparative biologies of the coconut hispine bettle, Brontispa longissima Gestro (Coleoptera:Chrysomelidae) on Baybay Tall (BYT) and Malayan yellow dwarf (MYD) coconut varieties reared under laboratory conditions.
2015
Acabal, V.M. | Rosales, G. | Ceniza, M.J.C.
One of the most serious pest attacking coconut in the country and a wide range of ornamental palm species today is the coconut hispine beetle, Brontispa longissima Gestro (Coleoptera:Chrysomelidae). This introduced pest species has become widely distributed throughout the country attacking almost all stages and varieties of coconuts and relatives. In this study, the biology and development of this beetle in BYT and MYD varieties was investigated in the laboratory. Incubation period of beetles reared on two varieties did not differ (mean 4 days). Slight variation in the duration of the development stages was only evident in the mean larval development and total developmental periods, which were 38 days and 41 days, for MYD and BT varieties, respectively. Pupal development did not show variation, observed to be a mean of days for both varieties. Body measurements in the larval stages also did not vary significantly. However, there was significantly higher mortality of the larvae reared in MYD (24.7%) than those in the BYT variety (16.4%). Field observations on the development of the beetle on seedlings of these two varieties revealed that BYT harbored the highest number of eggs (3.22), larvae (13.78), and adults (3.78) than MYD which had a mean of 3.22 eggs, 4.0 larvae and 1.06 adults. The rating for degree of damage showed significantly higher on BYT than on MYD which were 4.33 and 2.22, respectively. This may indicate the preference of Brontispa beetles for BYT variety than for MYD.
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