The Coffee Berry Borer (Hypothenemus hampei) Invades Hawaii: Preliminary Investigations on Trap Response and Alternate Hosts.

Russell H Messing

doi:10.3390/insects3030640

Abstract

In August 2010 the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei, was first reported to have invaded the Kona coffee growing region of Hawaii, posing a severe economic challenge to the fourth largest agricultural commodity in the State. Despite its long and widespread occurrence throughout the tropics as the most serious pest of coffee, there are still discrepancies in the literature regarding several basic aspects of berry borer biology relevant to its control. In Kona coffee plantations, we investigated the beetles’ response to several trap and lure formulations, and examined the occurrence of beetles in seeds of alternate host plants occurring adjacent to coffee farms. While traps were shown to capture significant numbers of beetles per day, and the occurrence of beetles in alternate hosts was quite rare, the unique situation of coffee culture in Hawaii will make this pest extremely challenging to manage in the Islands.

Highlights

The coffee berry borer (CBB), Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari), is the most serious insect pest of coffee worldwide, causing severe economic damage in every region where commercial coffee is grown
In this paper we report on initial investigations into coffee berry borer response to traps, and the beetles¶ occurrence in alternate host plants in the first year following the CBB invasion of the Kona coffee growing region of Hawaii
Brocap traps containing a 3:1 ratio of methanol: ethanol captured a mean (±SE) of 220.6 ± 54.1 adult coffee berry borers per trap per day, which was not significantly different from the 234.9 ± 70.2 beetles caught in traps containing a 1:1 ratio of methanol: ethanol (t = 0.4751, DF = 15, p = 0.6416; Figure 2)

Summary

Introduction

The coffee berry borer (CBB), Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari), is the most serious insect pest of coffee worldwide, causing severe economic damage in every region where commercial coffee is grown. The recent invasion of the beetle in coffee farms of the Kona region of the Big Island [1] threatens to seriously impact the entire coffee industry. Insects 2012, 3 throughout the Hawaiian Islands This industry comprises approximately 8,000 acres, with total farm revenues of about 30 million dollars, which makes it the fourth largest crop in the State [2]. The beetle spends most of its life cycle inside the coffee berry, it is difficult to control with chemical or biological inputs [3]. Classical biological control with parasitoids has had limited success wherever it has been tried (mostly with African parasitoids transported to Latin America) [5]

Methods

Results

Conclusion