![]() ![]() This is the HIGHEST risk pest of coconut in the Pacific, mostly due to a new. Apart from coconut and African oil palm recorded host plants include the date palm and a variety of palms grown for ornamental purpose, including Roystonea regia, Livistona chinensis, Corypha umbraculifera and Raphia ruffia (Gressitt, 1953 Bedford,1980) also recorded are pine apple, sugarcane, pandanus and banana (Lever, 1979) (Source: Global Invasive Species Database, 2005). The coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) is a common pest insect in the Pacific. They may provide entry points for lethal secondary attacks by the palm weevil Rhyncophorus or by other pathogens, in some countries (Bedford, 1980). Attack by adults may reduce yield and kill seedlings. In younger palms the effect of damage can be much more severe (Wood, 1968 1976). rhinoceros bores into the base of cluster of spears, causing wedge shaped cuts in the unfolded fronds. Apart from coconut and African oil palm recorded host plants include the date palm and a variety of palms grown for ornamental purpose, including Roystonea regia, Livistona chinensis, Corypha umbraculifera and Raphia ruffia (Gressitt, 1953 Bedford,1980) also recorded are pine apple, sugarcane, pandanus and banana (Lever, 1979) (Source: Global Invasive Species Database, 2005). From artificially pruned leaf damage stimulation studies it was observed that damage to 50% fronds corresponds to leaf area reduction of 13% and decrease in nut yield by 23% (Young, 1974). (1963) has reported a loss in yield of 5.5 to 9.1% due to beetle attack. The rhinoceros beetle, so-named due to its large re-curving horn, is a well-known sight in gardens and on farms in Africa. ![]() It is the longest extant species of beetle in the world, and is also one of the largest flying insects in the world. In India damage of inflorescence is also reported in severely infested areas which cause reduction in yield up to 10% (Nair, 1986). The Hercules beetle ( Dynastes hercules) is a species of rhinoceros beetle native to the rainforests of southern Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Lesser Antilles. ![]() Some of the crushed fibre is pushed outside the entrance hole, where it indicates the insect’s presence. The imagos are the destructive stage, they bore into the crown of the palm resulting in wedge shaped or “V” cuts in the fronds that unfurl. The coconut rhinoceros beetle is one of the most damaging insects to coconut palms and African oil palm in southern and south- east Asia and the Western Pacific islands. ![]()
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