DRYOPHTHORINAE, Schoenherr, 1825

Peck, Stewart B., 2010, The beetles of the island of St. Vincent, Lesser Antilles (Insecta: Coleoptera); diversity and distributions, Insecta Mundi 2010 (144), pp. 1-77 : 59-60

SUBFAMILY DRYOPHTHORINAE

TRIBE RHYNCHOPHORINI

SUBTRIBE RHYNCHOPHORINA

Rhynchophorus palmarum (Linnaeus) 1758: 377 ( Curculio ); Fleutiaux and Sallé 1890: 453; Hustache 1932: 376; Bennett and Alam 1985: 30; Perez-Gelabert 2008: 134. Distribution. Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Hispaniola, Martinique, St. Vincent. USA (CA, TX), Mexico to Panama, South America ; widespread New World. Notes. These large weevils are primarily associated with a wide variety of palms. According to Wattanapongsiri (1966), R. palmarum has been associated with species of the palm genera Acrocomia, Attalaea , Bactris , Chrysalidocarpus , Cocos (including coconut palm), Desmoncus , Elaeis (including oil palm), Euterpe , Guilielma , Manicaria , Maximiliana , Oreodoxa , Ricinus , and Sabal as well as Gynerium and Saccharum (sugar cane) (Graminae), Carica and Jaracatia (Caricaeae) , Ananas (pineapple) ( Bromeliaceae ) and Musa (banana) ( Scitamineae ). Adult females lay eggs in the base of leaf sheaths, terminal shoots or in cuts made in the trunk. Larvae tunnel through the softest parts of the trunk, generally destroying the heart. Once they have finished feeding the top of the palm is weakened and may topple. Larvae prepare a cocoon around themseves inside the base of the trunk made from the fibers in the stem The species develops throughout the year. The complete life cycle varies from 45 to180 days depending on location. Economic significance. This species is a serious pest of coconut palms and other crops including banana, papaya, cacao, and sugarcane throughout Central and South America and the West Indies. Damage is due to the feeding habits of the larvae which generally weaken the trunk to the point at which the plant is easily broken or toppled.

SUBTRIBE SPHENOPHORINA

Metamasius hemipterus (Linnaeus) 1758: 377 ( Curculio ); Fleutiaux and Sallé 1890: 454; Hustache 1932: 380; Ivie et al. 2008b: 276; Perez-Gelabert 2008: 137. = M. sericeus Olivier 1807: 84 ; Blackwelder 1944-1957: 913. Distribution. Antigua, Barbados, Bequia, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, St. Croix, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Thomas, St. Vincent. Mexico to Panama, South America ; widespread Antilles and Latin America . Notes. The West Indian sugarcane borer ( Vaurie 1966). This species is associated with a variety of monocot plants, especially those that are rotting, broken, damaged or weakened. Banana and sugarcane are the two plants most frequently mentioned in the literature. The species has also been recorded from coconut and royal palm sheaths, stumps of Iriartea ventricosa Martius and Jessenia batua Burret in Brazil, and has been intercepted at customs in a stem of a species of Chamaedorea . In Costa Rica, numerous adults have been collected on fermenting palm trunks. Adults have also been recorded on a variety of rotting fruits. Economic significance. Woodruff and Baranowski (1985) report that there is debate over the economic status of this species. Certainly the species has been associated with both banana and sugarcane but its impact, especially on the former, is uncertain. The beetles appear to prefer unhealthy or injured plants and thus may not be primary pests but rather of a secondary nature. Nevertheless, adult feeding and larval infestations cause serious damage, at least in sugarcane, especially if the plants have already been damaged by other insects or rats. Populations may build in damaged plants left out to rot and may reinfest subsequent crops.

Metamasius maurus (Gyllenhal) 1838: 912 ( Sphenophorus ); O’Brien and Wibmer 1982: 218. Distribution. Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Croix, St. Vincent; Lesser Antilles endemic. Notes. Vaurie (1966) reports specimens (including larvae and pupal cells) taken from rotting trunks of banana in Martinique. No larvae have been found in healthy trunks and it has been suggested that this species could prove useful in hastening decomposition of old trunks.