Oryctes Elegans Research Articles

Description of the second species of Cingulacarus Elsen (Acari, Mesostigmata, Diplogyniidae), and notes on the genus.

Cingulacarus Elsen is a monotypic genus of Trigynaspida based on C. gangeticus Elsen, collected from the scarabaeid beetle Scarabaeus gangeticus (Castelnau) (Col., Scarabaeidae) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Herein, a second species of the genus, C. kermanensis sp. nov. is described based on female and male specimens collected in southeastern Iran, in association with Oryctes elegans L. (Col., Scarabaeidae). The diagnosis of the genus Cingulacarus is revised, with a discussion of the impact on current generic keys for the family Diplogyniidae, and a proposal to eliminate the current subfamilial classification within that family.

Study of Morphological and Diagnostic of Two Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in Al-Muthanna Province

The study was conducted in Al-Muthanna Governorate during the year 2018 for the presence of two species of beetles belonging to the sacrabeidae family, namely Oryctes elegans (Prell, 1914) and Kheper aegyptiorum (Latreille, 1823), and the study also showed the presence of two species of beetles. Clear morphological differences between the parts of the two species in terms of body length and head composition, wings, legs and abdomen.

A survey of the date palm borers species and an estimate of their population density and relative presence in palm orchards in Salah Al-Din Governorate

A field study was conducted in date palm orchards in Salah al-Din Governorate during the period from 1/10/ 2020 to 30/10/2021 to survey the species of date palm borers and estimate their population density and relative presence during the study period. The results showed the diagnosis of three species of palm borers belonging to Coleoptera of the family Scarabaeidae, which included Oryctes elegans, Pentodon sp and Tanyproctus sp. The relative presence of males and females for the three borers was (53.00, 47.00%), (51.98, 48.02%) and (52.76, 47.24 %), respectively., the highest population density for males and females of the three borers during the month of June was (224, 192), (145, 132) and (68, 57) respectively, and the sex ratio for each of the three borers was 1.1:1 The highest total of adults caught by IPM Russell traps during one year was for O. elegans and Pentodon sp. it reached 418 and 236.3 adults/trap, respectively, while the total of adults of the two insects in the local trap was 75.7 and 49.9 adults/trap, respectively. For the borer Tanyproctus sp., the local trap superior on other traps , in which the total number of adults caught was 312 adults/trap, while it was 50 adults/IPM Russell trap.

Hemocyte profile, phagocytosis, and antibacterial activity in response to immune challenge of the date fruit stalk borer, Oryctes elegans

The date fruit stalk borer, Oryctes elegans Prell, is a destructive pest on date palms in Saudi Arabia. We evaluated the immune response of the third instars (last instars), by the intrahemocoelic injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (a pathogen-associated molecular peptide, PAMP), which significantly increased the total hemocyte count. Phase-contrast light microscopy revealed the presence of five hemocyte types: prohemocytes, granulocytes, plasmatocytes, oenocytoids, and spherulocytes. Transmission electron microscopy demonstrated that, among these hemocytes, only the granulocytes and plasmatocytes phagocytosed latex beads. Injection with LPS also significantly decreased the number of oenocytoids. The antibacterial activity of plasma proteins of larvae injected with LPS, measured using the agar well diffusion method, against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria varied based on the bacterial strain, the total concentration of plasma protein, and time post-injection with LPS. The results of the current study may be useful in the biological control of O. elegans. Furthermore, new compounds with antibacterial activity that might be useful for the development of innovative drugs of natural origin can be identified in O. elegans.

The Use of Phosphine as Curative Treatment Against Date Palm Borers

Seven species and subspecies of borers that belong to the insect family Coleoptera, seriously damage date palm, Phoenix dactylifera. These include the invasive red palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus), longhorn beetle (Jebusaea hammerschmidtii), the frond borer (Phonapate frontalis), the fruit stalk borer (Oryctes elegans), the root borer (O. agamemnon), the Arabian rhinoceros beetle (O. agamemnon arabicus), and the rhinoceros beetle (O. agamemnon matthiesseni). Borers inflict considerable damage on the date palm that negatively affects yield and quality. Management tactics to alleviate borers' injury to date palm include removal of damaged tissues as mechanical sanitation, injection of palm with systemic insecticides, use of pheromone and light traps, and new formulations of semiochemicals. In recent years, the application of aluminum phosphide as a fumigant against these borers has become very common in many date palm growing countries. This article was compiled to give insight into the impact of borers on date palm, the mechanism of phosphine intoxication to insects and the prospect of using phosphine for future management of major date palm pests. The negative impact of the borers complex on date palm has escalating in recent times. With phasing out of some powerful insecticides and the development of insect resistance against others, farmers resorted to frequent use of phosphine gas against palm borers. However, the gas has been applied without proper dosage and exposure time. Air-tightness, which is essential for successful fumigation, is not met. Accordingly, more fieldwork and research are needed to improve fumigation techniques of phosphine gas, elucidate its phytotoxicity to date palm before being recommended for the management of date palm borers.

Biological Control Potential of Two Steinernematid Species Against the Date Fruit Stalk Borer (Oryctes elegans Prell, Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae).

The fruit stalk borer (Oryctes elegans) is an important pest of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) trees in Saudi Arabia. This study was conducted to determine efficacy of using two species of entomopathogenic nematodes, Steinernema kushidai and Steinernema glaseri, against O. elegans under laboratory and field conditions. Under laboratory conditions, both species of nematodes showed a significant effect on the mortality of O. elegans larvae. Significant variations were observed when insects were exposed to nematodes for variable durations under laboratory conditions. They showed no differences in insect larval mortality when tested either in aqueous suspensions or in Galleria-infected cadavers. Insects exposed to nematode aqueous suspension for 4 d and those treated with Galleria-infected cadavers showed the same rates of mortality, which differed when insects were exposed to nematode-infected cadavers under field conditions. Mean percentages of corrected mortality varied between nematode species and number of infected cadavers. S. kushidai caused significantly higher mortality percentages ± SE (72.17 ± 5.57, 95.83 ± 4.17, 94.43 ± 5.57, and 100%) compared with S. glaseri when the fruit stalk borer, O. elegans, was treated for 6 wk with two, four, six, and eight infected cadavers, respectively.

Field evaluation of mineral oils and inorganic salts with insecticides and light traps against the red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus olivier

Field experiments were conducted on imported varieties (Ekhlas and barhi) and local varieties (Zaghlol and Samani) of palm trees at EL-noubariya region, date palms in Egypt suffer from infestation of palm insects especially red palm weevil Rhynchophorus Ferrugineus (RPW). Inorganic salts, mineral oils and pesticides (individually and mixture) were applied using different techniques and integrated with light traps against R. ferrugineus. counting of light traps was recorded 77.9% of scarabaeidae, 40.3% of bostrichidae and 31.3% of cerambycidae. the collected insects can be arranged in descending order as follows: Palm stem borer, Phyllgnathus excavatus (56.3 insect/month), the frond borer Phonapate frontalis (36.3 insectl/month), the longhorn palm borer Pseudophilus testaceus (32.4 insect/month) the bunch stalk borer, Oryctes elegans (20.3 insect/month). the highest insect activity was obtained in April, May, June, July and August. Injection of inorganic solution inside the infested palm trees, led to 100% recovery of the treated trees after a year of treatment, while pouring the solution on the earth surrounding the infested palms caused 50% recovery, however spraying the solution on the imported varieties of palms was not very effective. Injection the mixture of car oil used with mossbelan as pure pesticide inside the infested trunk gave high protection against RPW (100%) recovery for all tested palms (aged 3 years in each) and 66.7% recovery fore local varieties (5 years age). Scattering granules of Vuoradan (soil pesticide) inside the drilled holes surrounding the infested palms (100 gm/hole) led to 66.7% recovery for imported varieties and about 33.3% for local varieties.

Pheromone synthesis. Part 258. Synthesis of the enantiomers of the beetle pheromones ethyl 4-methylheptanoate, 4-methyloctanoic acid and 4-methyl-1-nonanol, and HPLC analysis of their derivatives to determine their enantiomeric purities

The enantiomers of citronellal have been converted into the enantiomers of the following beetle pheromones: ethyl 4-methylheptanoate (produced by male Nicrophorus vespilloides), 4-methyloctanoic acid (produced by male Oryctes elegans), and 4-methyl-1-nonanol (produced by female Tenebrio molitor). The enantiomeric purities of the synthetic pheromones were determined by HPLC analysis of the corresponding acids after derivatization with Ohrui’s reagent [(S)-1-(anthracene-2,3-dicarboximido)-2-propanol]. The enantiomers of 4-methyl-1-nonanol could also be analyzed employing another Ohrui’s reagent [(1S,2S)-2-(naphthalene-2,3-dicarboximido)cyclohexane-1-carboxylic acid].

Acoustic Detection of Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Coleoptera: Dryophthoridae) and Oryctes elegans (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in Phoenix dactylifera (Arecales: Arecacae) Trees and Offshoots in Saudi Arabian Orchards.

Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Dryophthoridae) larvae are cryptic, internal tissue-feeding pests of palm trees that are difficult to detect; consequently, infestations may remain hidden until they are widespread in an orchard. Infested trees and propagable offshoots that develop from axillary buds on the trunk frequently are transported inadvertently to previously uninfested areas. Acoustic methods can be used for scouting and early detection of R. ferrugineus, but until now have not been tested on multiple trees and offshoots in commercial date palm orchard environments. For this report, the acoustic detectability of R. ferrugineus was assessed in Saudi Arabian date palm orchards in the presence of commonly occurring wind, bird noise, machinery noise, and nontarget insects. Signal analyses were developed to detect R. ferrugineus and another insect pest, Oryctes elegans Prell (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), frequently co-occurring in the orchards, and discriminate both from background noise. In addition, it was possible to distinguish R. ferrugineus from O. elegans in offshoots by differences in the temporal patterns of their sound impulses. As has been observed often with other insect pests, populations of the two species appeared clumped rather than uniform or random. The results are discussed in relation to development of automated methods that could assist orchard managers in quickly identifying infested trees and offshoots so that R. ferrugineus infestations can be targeted and the likelihood of transferring infested offshoots to uninfested areas can be reduced.

DoesOryctes elegans(Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) Abundance Determine Future Abundance ofRhynchophorus ferrugineus(Coleoptera: Rhynchophoridae) in the Date Palms of Saudi Arabia?

The red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier) is known to be the most serious pest of coconut palms and other cultivated palms in India, South Asia, North Africa, Europe, the United States and the Middle East. The larval feeding sites of the date fruit-stalk borer (FSB), Oryctes elegans Prell, may be attractive to RPW to lay eggs. Understanding the correlation between the RPW and FSB might help in predicting RPW infestations. The relative abundances of both species were followed in 16 date-palm production orchards in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from June 2007 to May 2008. A specifically designed light trap was used to monitor FSB, and pheromone traps (ferrugineol (4-methyl-5-nonanol)) were used to monitor RPWs. There was a weak correlation between FSB abundance and subsequent RPW infestation in date palms (R2 = 0.0039). The relative abundances of both species were well synchronized in the date palm orchards that were sampled.

Oryctes elegans, A Vector of Fusarium proliferatum Causing Wilt Disease Symptoms of Date Palm

Fusarium proliferatum is an important pathogen worldwide causing devastating diseases in many crucial crops such as date palm, banana, mango, maize, rice, asparagus, onion, and garlic varied between wilt and dieback. Many insects are able to transmit fungi either during feeding process or mechanically via insects’ movement or laying egg operation. F. proliferatum was isolated from date palm borer Oryctes elegans from five locations in the south of Iraq: Al- Namania, Al- souira, AL- Azezia, Al- Madaan, and Al-Dewania. The fungus was isolated from both insects’ adults and plant materials from trees that showed wilt symptoms. The results revealed that there was high frequency of fungal isolation from both materials expressing the theory of transmitting F. proliferatum by date palm borer. Al- Madaan samples revealed the highest isolation frequency from both borer adults and plant materials with 62.85% and 63.63% respectively; followed by AL- Azezia which showed the highest isolation frequency from insects with 48.33%; while, Al- souira scored the second highest isolation frequency from plant materials with 52.38%

A new species of Hypoaspis Canestrini from Iran (Acari: Laelapidae), with a key to the species occurring in the Western Palaearctic Region.

Hypoaspis elegans sp. nov. was collected on adult female Oryctes elegans Prell. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in Bam, Kerman province, Iran. The new species is described and illustrated from adult females. Hypoaspis surii Khanjani et. al., 2013 is a junior synonym of Hypoaspis maryamae Joharchi & Halliday, 2011. A key to the Western Palaearctic species of Hypoaspis is presented.

Survey and Relative Abundance of Insects (Insecta) Excluding Lepidoptera from Sixteen Commercial Date Palm Orchards using Light Traps at Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is one of the oldest fruit crops of the world having been cultivated for many centuries in North Africa and the Middle East. In Saudi Arabia commercial date palm production is an important industry. Insects, excluding the Lepidoptera, were sampled with Robinson-type light traps placed in 16 date palm commercial orchards in the Al-Kharj region, Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia, for 12 months from June 2007 to May 2008. No insecticide treatments or manure fertilizer applications were made in the orchards during operation of the traps. A total of 44 485 insects representing nine orders (Orthoptera, Blattodea, Dermaptera, Hemiptera, Mantodea, Neuroptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera and Diptera) and at least 50 different taxa were counted and identified. Most of the insects were trapped during a period extending from mid-Spring (April) to early autumn (September). The highest numbers were trapped during July and August (87 % of the total). Two orders, Coleoptera and Diptera represented 97 % of all insects trapped. Beetles comprised 87.83 % of the total insects trapped with scarabs composing 73 % of this percentage. The fruit stalk borer Oryctes elegans comprised 58 % of that total. This species was exceptionally abundant in one of the orchards in August. Dipterans comprising 10 % of the total (4 701 individuals), was the only other order attracted in relatively large numbers to the light traps. Most of these flies were trapped during August. The sericine scarab Maladera insanabilis previously not known from date palm orchards of Saudi Arabia may be a potential new pest.

Review: List of arthropod pests and their natural enemies identified worldwide on date palm, Phoenix dactylifera L.

The date palm, Phoenix dactylifera L. (Arecales: Arecaceae) is subject to damage by numerous arthropod pests. This review lists 112 species of mite and insect pests associated with date palm distributed among 10 orders and 42 different families. Of these species, few are identified as major or potential pests of date palm tree. The listed species are classified according to their preferred part on the tree into: 34 species on the foliages, 30 species on palm bases, stem and roots, 26 species on inflorescences, bunch stalks, green and ripening fruits, and 22 species attacking date during harvest and storage. In addition to harmful insect and mite pests, more than 45 predators and parasitoids in 7 orders and 15 families are identified. Ten species are considered as major pests viz., the red palm weevil (Rhynchophorous ferrugineus), Old world date mite (Oligonychus afrasiaticus), lesser date moth (Batrachedra amydraula), Dubas date bug (Ommatissus binotatus), green pit scale (Palmapsis phoenicis), carob moth (Ectomyelois ceratoniae), longhorn date palm stem borer (Jebusaea hammerschmidti), rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes agamemnon), fruit stalk borer (Oryctes elegans) and almond moth (Cadra cautella).

First record of Fusarium semitectum isolated from fruit stalk borer Oryctes elegans larvae as an entomopathogenic fungus in Iraq

First record of Fusarium semitectum isolated from fruit stalk borer Oryctes elegans larvae as an entomopathogenic fungus in Iraq

Activity of Insect Fauna during the Night in the Palm Orchards of Central Iraq

The study was carried out at three palm orchards, each of 2.5 hectare in Al-Madain palm orchards (30 km, South Baghdad) contains the palm varieties (Prem, Osta omran, Zahdi, Berhee, Khadrawi, Khastawi, Oueedi and Tebarzel) in 2010 season aiming to determine the population density of palm borers and to know other insect occurring in date palm orchards. Three light traps with solar energy (Magna Traps with lamps of 320-420 nm wavelength are produced by Russell IPM) were used as one trap in each orchard. The number of fruit stalk borer, Oryctes elegans and frond borer, Phonapate frontalis adults were calculated per week in each trap aiming to determine the population density of adults in the three orchards under this study. Results of using light traps (Magna Traps) indicated that the number of O. elegans adults catch per trap during the period from April to December 2010 were 254, 217 and 240 adult/trap in orchards No. 1, 2 and 3, respectively, the higher population densities were 87 ,79 and 81 adult/trap per month, respectively reported in July. Also, the study indicated that the population density of frond borer, Phonapate frontalis catch per trap during the period from April to December 2010 were 34, 58 and 54 adult/trap for orchards No. 1, 2 and 3, respectively, the higher population densities were 10, 21 and 15 adult/trap per month, respectively reported in June. Many insect groups were caught in light traps, the insect fauna composed of nineteen insect groups, 12 are coleoptera, 1 hemiptera, 1 hymenoptera, 1 homoptera, 2 dermaptera, and 2 orthoptera, the numbers of this insect were recorded per month a year round in palm orchards.

Population density of Oryctes elegans Prell. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) on some date palm varieties in South Baghdad Orchards

Laboratory and field studies were conducted to investigate the population density of Fruit stalk borer Oryctes elegans Prell in date palm orchards grown in Al-madain region about 30km south of Baghdad in 2009.The susceptibility of some date palm varieties, ( Braim, Ustaomran, Zahdi, Berhee, Khadhrawi, Khastawi, and Oueedi), to borer infestation was also tested. Results indicated that the mean density for borer larvae was 5.75 individual/tree. The Brim variety showed the highest susceptibility with an average of larvae population reached to 13 individual/tree. found in the part of the tree which was under annual management for bruning and removal of old fronds used to done during March and April. As for the adult density, results obtained by solar light trap showed that the mean number for adults catch was 29 insect /trap for the period of July to October while the highest trap catch was 37 adult /trap occurred during September. Results of the morphological studies had also indicated the presence of some differences in term of width, depth, weight of frond bases. Therefore, results of this study could be of benefit for orchards owners when applying an integrated program for controlling date palm pests.

Ultrastructure of sensory receptors on the antennae of Oryctes elegans Prell (Coloeptera: Scarabidae)

Oryctes elegans is one of the economically important pest of palm trees in Saudi Arabia. Chemoreceptors are very important organs for mating, feeding or oviposition in insects. We described the morphology ultra structure and description of antennae among males and females using scanning electron microscopy. Observation have been described determined that the antennae of O. elegans were lamellate type and composed of nine segments. There were three types of trichoid sensilla found on the antennae. These were elongated, curved and articulate, respectively. Fourth type was placoid sensillae concentrated on the lateral segments of antennae. These sensillae were abundant distributed on pedicle and the 1st flagellomeres. Sensillae found on females and males antennae were similar but the antennal segments of males were thinner than females.

Seasonal Fluctuation of the Date Palm Fruit Stalk Borer, Oryctes elegans Prell (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), in Date Palm Plantations in Al-Qassim Region, Saudi Arabia

The date palm fruit stalk borer, Oryctes elegans, is widely distributed in Saudi Arabia. Undetected and untreated infestations by this pest result in severe losses. Light trap studies to investigate seasonal population fluctuations of O. elegans were conducted in Al-Rajhi Endowment date palm plantation in Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia, by installing three modified Robinson mercury-vapor light traps in 3 different equidistant sites. The investigation revealed that light trapping is an effective tool for the monitoring and forecasting of O. elegans infestations. The highest activity of O. elegans was witnessed from April to July, during which period 65% of adults captures were made. Peak monthly activity was observed during June, when 19.4 % and 22.2% of the catches were made during 2003 and 2004, respectively. No beetle activity was observed during January and February. The highest number of beetles (56.6% of the population) was recovered in the site with relatively old and tall palms (more than 18 years old and averaging 7.5m in height). The site with shorter and younger palms received 29.6% of the beetles, whereas the uncultivated site had the lowest number of beetles (13.8% of total).

Male aggregation pheromone of date palm fruit stalk borer Oryctes elegans.

Laboratory and field investigations were carried out to characterize the chemical communication system of the date palm fruit stalk borer, Oryctes elegans, and to develop pheromone-based trapping in Eastern Iran. Adults of both sexes feeding on date palm pieces attracted conspecifics, whereas date palm alone was minimally attractive. Males were twice as attractive as females. More beetles were captured at the palm crown than at ground level. Odors from adults feeding on sugarcane were sampled and analyzed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. Whereas females did not emit sex specific volatiles, males emitted a blend of 4-methyloctanoic acid (1: major component) and ethyl 4-methyloctanoate (2), occasionally mixed with minor components: 4-methyloctanyl acetate (3), methyl 4-methyloctanoate (4), 4-methyloctanol (5), and nonanyl acetate (6). Electroantennography and field trapping experiments demonstrated that compound 1 is an essential component of the male aggregation pheromone of O. elegans. It was barely attractive by itself but synergistic with fresh date palm odor. It attracted many more beetles than any of compounds 2-6. The addition of one or several of compounds 2-6 to 1 did not improve trap captures. During the course of 2 years, we captured 4000 beetles, with a weekly average of 6.3 beetles/trap, and were able to monitor the seasonal flight of O. elegans. Our results provide the basis for developing mass trapping for control of this pest.