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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Hilo, Hawaii » Daniel K. Inouye U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center » Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #410096
Research Project: Postharvest Protection of Tropical Commodities for Improved Market Access and Quarantine Security

Location: Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research

Title: Efficacy of long-lasting insecticide-incorporated nets on 2 scolytinae pests, the coffee berry borer Hypothenemus hampei and tropical nut borer Hypothenemus obscurus under laboratory conditions

Author
item AIGBEDION-ATALOR, PASCAL - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE)
item DE ROCQUIGNY, NATHALIE - University Of Hawaii
item Acebes-Doria, Angelita

Submitted to: Journal of Economic Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/30/2024
Publication Date: 2/27/2024
Citation: Aigbedion-Atalor, P., de Rocquigny, N., Acebes-Doria, A.L. 2024. Efficacy of long-lasting insecticide-incorporated nets on 2 scolytinae pests, the coffee berry borer Hypothenemus hampei and tropical nut borer Hypothenemus obscurus under laboratory conditions. Journal of Economic Entomology. 117(2):545-554. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toae020.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toae020

Interpretive Summary: Series of laboratory trials were conducted to evaluate the mortality and non-lethal effects of long-lasting insecticide-incorporated netting (LLIN) on two economically important Scolytine pests in Hawaii, the coffee berry borer (CBB) and tropical nut borer (TNB). Promising results were found, demonstrating that the LLIN with a-cypermethrin had significant lethal and sub-lethal effects on both beetle species, causing over 90% mortality after 24 hours of exposure and paralysis after 1, 6, and 12 hours of exposure. The highest lethality value was recorded after 24 h of exposure for both CBB and TNB. Results have implications on the potential utility of LLINs with a-cypermethrin for management both pests as a component of an integrated pest management program.

Technical Abstract: The production and yield of coffee (Coffea spp., Rubiaceae) and macadamia, Macadamia integrifolia Maiden & Betche (Proteaceae) in Hawaii are affected by several pests. The coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) is the most damaging to coffee, while the tropical nut borer, Hypothenemus obscurus (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) is one of the economically harmful pests of macadamia. This paper investigated the potential efficacy of a long-lasting insecticide-incorporated net (LLIN) under laboratory conditions to manage these pests. The LLIN (40 denier with mesh size 625 knots/in²), incorporated with a-cypermethrin (0.34%), was excised into 100 mm circles and inserted in 100 mm Petri dishes. Nets with the same quality but without insecticides were used as control treatments. Twenty beetles (H. obscurus or H. hampei) each were placed on the treated and non-treated netting at four treatment or exposure hours: 1, 6, 12, and 24, with five replicates. Subsequently, the beetles were ranked alive, affected, or dead. The results showed that the LLIN with a-cypermethrin had significant lethal and sub-lethal effects on both Hypothenemus species, causing over 90% mortality after 24 hours of exposure and paralysis after 1, 6, and 12 hours of exposure. The highest lethality value was recorded after 24 h of exposure for both H. obscurus and H. hampei. The LT50 of H. obscurus and H. hampei was 18.78 mins and 2.15 hours, respectively, while the LT90 values were 32.11 and 20.67 h. These results imply potential effectiveness of LLINs with a-cypermethrin for management of H. obscurus and H. hampei, but field studies are warranted for optimization.