Coffee borer beetle
Encyclopedia
The coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei, is a small beetle
native to Africa
. It is recognised as the most harmful pest to coffee
crops worldwide. The insect affects over seventy countries, mainly in Latin America. Some Spanish
common name
s of the insect include barrenador del café, gorgojo del café and broca del café.
is white, with a brown head and a length of 0.7–2.2 mm and a width of 0.2–0.6 mm. Females have two larvae stages and males only one. They have strong mandibles, and their larval phase lasts 10 to 26 days. The pupae are yellowish, with a length of 0.5–1.9 mm.
The adults are small black beetles. Females are 1.4–1.8 mm long. The males are smaller, 1.2–1.6 mm long. Female beetles can fly short distances; males have no wings. Females have four to six teeth in the frontal margin of the pronotum. H. hampei is confused sometimes with the false borer (H. obscurus or H. seriatus) and Xylosandrus (Scolytidae) , but these species do not enter the coffee bean endosperm
.
The same plant can host three to five generations of beetles. Up to a hundred beetles can be found in a single fruit. The insect is very sensitive to desiccation
, and waits for the rains to leave the fruit. The most affected areas in the crops are the shady and moist ones.
, so the female beetle can lay fertile eggs without mating. This characteristic and the asymmetry in the proportion of females to males is thought to be induced by the cytoplasmic bacterium Wolbachia
.
, but other coffee species have been affected in some cases. The female beetles attack the fruits from 8 weeks past the flowering to 32 weeks. When the insect enters, it builds galleries in the endosperm where the eggs are deposited.
, and spread to the rest of Africa during the 1920s. The first reports in America were in Brasil (1926). In the 1970s it affected Guatemala
and México
. The beetle entered Colombia
during the late 1980s. It entered the Dominican Republic
in the 1990s. It was detected in Puerto Rico
in August 2007. It was discovered in Kona
(Big Island
), Hawaii
in September 2010.
species are naturally resistant to the coffee berry borer. C. kapakata seems to be the most resistant.
s are useful only before the female beetle penetrates the berry. There are reports of resistance to endosulfan
in New Caledonia
.
s used to control the borer beetle are hymenoptera
(wasps) native to Africa. Although they have a low impact in the beetle population, the use of biologic control allows the product to qualify as organic food
.
: Formicidae) are the main predators of H. hampei. However, the research of Centro Nacional de Investigaciones de Café (Cenicafé, Colombia) reported other insect families implicated in the predation: Anthocoridae (Hemiptera) and Cucujidae (Coleoptera). These are the genus and species that have been reported to attack the borer beetle:.
Metaparasitylenchus hypothenemi (Nematoda: Allantonematidae) has been reported in Mexico. Panagrolaimus sp. has been reported in the field in India. In laboratory experiments, Heterorhabditis sp. and Steinernema feltiae have been shown to infect the insect.
Fungi
Beauveria bassiana
produces high mortality in the beetle. Other fungi that attack the insect are: Hirsutella eleutheratorum, Paecilomyces sp. (the insect pathogenic species in the genus Paecilomyces have been renamed as Isaria), and Metarhizium anisopliae.
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
native to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. It is recognised as the most harmful pest to coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
crops worldwide. The insect affects over seventy countries, mainly in Latin America. Some Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
common name
Common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
s of the insect include barrenador del café, gorgojo del café and broca del café.
Description
The larvaLarva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
is white, with a brown head and a length of 0.7–2.2 mm and a width of 0.2–0.6 mm. Females have two larvae stages and males only one. They have strong mandibles, and their larval phase lasts 10 to 26 days. The pupae are yellowish, with a length of 0.5–1.9 mm.
The adults are small black beetles. Females are 1.4–1.8 mm long. The males are smaller, 1.2–1.6 mm long. Female beetles can fly short distances; males have no wings. Females have four to six teeth in the frontal margin of the pronotum. H. hampei is confused sometimes with the false borer (H. obscurus or H. seriatus) and Xylosandrus (Scolytidae) , but these species do not enter the coffee bean endosperm
Endosperm
Endosperm is the tissue produced inside the seeds of most flowering plants around the time of fertilization. It surrounds the embryo and provides nutrition in the form of starch, though it can also contain oils and protein. This makes endosperm an important source of nutrition in human diet...
.
Life cycle
The maturation of the insect (from egg to adult) lasts between 24 and 45 days, varying according to the weather. Usually, the female drills the berry through the central disc, although it can enter through the side walls if the fruit is dry. Two days after the access, the beetle lays 35–50 eggs, which produce 13 females for each male. The lifespan for females is 35–190 days and for males 40 days. The new insects mate inside the seed. Some females lay the eggs in the same coffee plant, others colonise new ones. The males never leave the fruit.The same plant can host three to five generations of beetles. Up to a hundred beetles can be found in a single fruit. The insect is very sensitive to desiccation
Desiccation
Desiccation is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. A desiccant is a hygroscopic substance that induces or sustains such a state in its local vicinity in a moderately sealed container.-Science:...
, and waits for the rains to leave the fruit. The most affected areas in the crops are the shady and moist ones.
Parthenogenesis
In some cases, the reproduction of the insect can be parthenogeneticParthenogenesis
Parthenogenesis is a form of asexual reproduction found in females, where growth and development of embryos occur without fertilization by a male...
, so the female beetle can lay fertile eggs without mating. This characteristic and the asymmetry in the proportion of females to males is thought to be induced by the cytoplasmic bacterium Wolbachia
Wolbachia
Wolbachia is a genus of bacteria which infects arthropod species, including a high proportion of insects , as well as some nematodes. It is one of the world's most common parasitic microbes and is possibly the most common reproductive parasite in the biosphere...
.
Colonisation
The main host of H. hampei is Coffea arabicaCoffea arabica
Coffea arabica is a species of Coffea originally indigenous to the mountains of Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula, hence its name, and also from the southwestern highlands of Ethiopia and southeastern Sudan. It is also known as the "coffee shrub of Arabia", "mountain coffee" or "arabica coffee"...
, but other coffee species have been affected in some cases. The female beetles attack the fruits from 8 weeks past the flowering to 32 weeks. When the insect enters, it builds galleries in the endosperm where the eggs are deposited.
Distribution
The distribution of the pest corresponds to the entire area of coffee crops. The accidental transport of contaminated seeds is believed to be the cause. The insect was native to AngolaAngola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, and spread to the rest of Africa during the 1920s. The first reports in America were in Brasil (1926). In the 1970s it affected Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
and México
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. The beetle entered Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
during the late 1980s. It entered the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
in the 1990s. It was detected in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
in August 2007. It was discovered in Kona
Kona District, Hawaii
Kona is the name of a moku or district on the Big Island of Hawaii in the State of Hawaii. In the current system of administration of Hawaii County, the moku of Kona is divided into North Kona District and South Kona District . The term "Kona" is sometimes used to refer to its largest town,...
(Big Island
Hawaii (island)
The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...
), Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
in September 2010.
Control
The presence of the insect affects the economy of over 20 million families that depend on the coffee harvest. It has caused marked reduction in the prices of coffee reducing the sale price to growers. The beetle can destroy the entire harvest of an area. The main measures against the pest are preventative. The application of efficient control programs is difficult, since the coffee plant is perennial, with several flowering periods, and grows in areas with very unpredictable weather.Prevention
Prevention is based in the careful inspection of the coffee beans before leaving the coffee faros to avoid spreading of the insects. Also a number of border controls has been established in countries with coffee crops.Natural resistance
Some CoffeaCoffea
Coffea is a genus of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family. They are shrubs or small trees native to tropical and southern Africa and tropical Asia. Seeds of several species are the source of the popular beverage coffee. Coffee ranks as one of the world's most valuable and widely traded...
species are naturally resistant to the coffee berry borer. C. kapakata seems to be the most resistant.
Chemical control
InsecticideInsecticide
An insecticide is a pesticide used against insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against the eggs and larvae of insects respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and the household. The use of insecticides is believed to be one of the major factors behind...
s are useful only before the female beetle penetrates the berry. There are reports of resistance to endosulfan
Endosulfan
Endosulfan is an off-patent organochlorine insecticide and acaricide that is being phased out globally. Endosulfan became a highly controversial agrichemical due to its acute toxicity, potential for bioaccumulation, and role as an endocrine disruptor...
in New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
.
Parasitoids
The parasitoidParasitoid
A parasitoid is an organism that spends a significant portion of its life history attached to or within a single host organism in a relationship that is in essence parasitic; unlike a true parasite, however, it ultimately sterilises or kills, and sometimes consumes, the host...
s used to control the borer beetle are hymenoptera
Hymenoptera
Hymenoptera is one of the largest orders of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees and ants. There are over 130,000 recognized species, with many more remaining to be described. The name refers to the heavy wings of the insects, and is derived from the Ancient Greek ὑμήν : membrane and...
(wasps) native to Africa. Although they have a low impact in the beetle population, the use of biologic control allows the product to qualify as organic food
Organic food
Organic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.For the...
.
- Bethylid parasitoids (Bethylidae): Cephalonomia stephanoderis Betrem and Prorops nasuta Waterston were introduced in some Latin AmericaLatin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n countries from AfricaAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
during the 1980s and 1990s with low success. In the late 1990s the C. hyalinipennis native of North America was describe attacking the borer beetle in ChiapasChiapasChiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...
, south of MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. This species predate the eggs of H. hampei. Another useful betylid is Sclerodermus cadavericus Benoit, but its management is difficult, since it is an aggressive wasp and can cause severe dermatitisDermatitis-Etymology:Dermatitis derives from Greek derma "skin" + -itis "inflammation" and genetic disorder.-Terminology:There are several different types of dermatitis. The different kinds usually have in common an allergic reaction to specific allergens. The term may describe eczema, which is also called...
.
- Eulophyd parasitoids (EulophidaeEulophidaeEulophidae is a large family of hymenopteran insects, with over 4,300 described species in some 300 genera . The family as presently defined also includes the genus Elasmus, which was previously treated as a separate family, "Elasmidae", and is now treated as a subfamily of Eulophidae...
): Phymastichus coffea was discovered in TogoTogoTogo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
in 1987. It attacks the adult beetle and mass-rearing in Colombia has been successful. It has a capacity to stay in the coffee crops for a long time.
- Braconid parasitoids (BraconidaeBraconidaeBraconidae is a family of parasitoid wasps and one of the richest families of insects. Between 50,000 and 150,000 species exist worldwide. The species are grouped into about 45 subfamilies and 1,000 genera, some important ones being: Ademon, Aphanta, Asobara, Bracon hebetor, Cenocoelius, Chaenusa,...
): Heterospilus coffeicola Schmiedeknecht was observed in UgandaUgandaUganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
but its reproduction in laboratories has been unsuccessful.
Predators
Ants (HymenopteraHymenoptera
Hymenoptera is one of the largest orders of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees and ants. There are over 130,000 recognized species, with many more remaining to be described. The name refers to the heavy wings of the insects, and is derived from the Ancient Greek ὑμήν : membrane and...
: Formicidae) are the main predators of H. hampei. However, the research of Centro Nacional de Investigaciones de Café (Cenicafé, Colombia) reported other insect families implicated in the predation: Anthocoridae (Hemiptera) and Cucujidae (Coleoptera). These are the genus and species that have been reported to attack the borer beetle:.
- Formicidae: Solenopsis, Pheidole, Wasmannia, Paratrechina, Crematogaster, Brachymyrmex & Prenolepis.
- Anthocoridae: Calliodes & Scoloposcelis.
- Cucujidae: Cathartus quadricollis (Guérin-Méneville).
Diseases
NematodesMetaparasitylenchus hypothenemi (Nematoda: Allantonematidae) has been reported in Mexico. Panagrolaimus sp. has been reported in the field in India. In laboratory experiments, Heterorhabditis sp. and Steinernema feltiae have been shown to infect the insect.
Fungi
Beauveria bassiana
Beauveria bassiana
Beauveria bassiana is a fungus that grows naturally in soils throughout the world and acts as a parasite on various arthropod species, causing white muscardine disease; it thus belongs to the entomopathogenic fungi. It is being used as a biological insecticide to control a number of pests such as...
produces high mortality in the beetle. Other fungi that attack the insect are: Hirsutella eleutheratorum, Paecilomyces sp. (the insect pathogenic species in the genus Paecilomyces have been renamed as Isaria), and Metarhizium anisopliae.