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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Sustainable Perennial Crops Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #350323
Research Project: Develop Pest Management Technologies and Strategies to Control the Coffee Berry Borer

Location: Sustainable Perennial Crops Laboratory

Title: Micro-CT unveils the secret life of the coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei; Coleoptera, Curculionidae: Scolytinae) inside coffee berries

Author
item ALBA-TERECEDOR, JAVIER - Universidad De Granada
item ALBA-ALEJANDRE, IGNACIO - Universidad De Granada
item Vega, Fernando

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/14/2017
Publication Date: 4/1/2018
Citation: Alba-Terecedor, J., Alba-Alejandre, I., Vega, F.E. 2018. Micro-CT unveils the secret life of the coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei; Coleoptera, Curculionidae: Scolytinae) inside coffee berries. Bruker Micro-CT User Meeting. 165-173.

Interpretive Summary: The coffee berry borer is the most devastating pest of coffee throughout the world and causes millions of dollars in losses each year. Increased knowledge on the basic biology of the coffee berry borer can result in new insights on how to reduce damage caused by the insect, thereby increasing yields. In this paper we report on the use of an x-ray imaging technique known as micro-computerized tomography to observe the behavior of the coffee berry borer inside coffee berries. This information will be of use to coffee scientists, entomologists, ecologists, and the coffee industry.

Technical Abstract: The coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari); Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) is the most important insect pest of coffee worldwide, and due to the cryptic life habit of the insect inside coffee berries, effective pest management strategies have been difficult to develop. In this paper we report on the use of an x-ray imaging technique known as micro-computerized tomography to observe the behavior of the coffee berry borer inside coffee berries. The technique has allowed observing different developmental stages of the insect as a well as a female grooming an egg, a subsocial type of behavior. Future work will focus on observing additional behavioral traits of the insect inside infested coffee berries.