DRYOPHTHORINAE, Schoenherr, 1825

Peck, Stewart B., 2011, The beetles of Martinique, Lesser Antilles (Insecta: Coleoptera); diversity and distributions, Insecta Mundi 2011 (178), pp. 1-57 : 40-42

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; Pérez-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) ( Musaceae ). 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 themselves 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 or stem to the point at which the plant is easily broken or toppled.

SUBTRIBE SPHENOPHORINA

Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) 1824: 299 ( Calandra ); Fleutiaux and Sallé 1890: 455; Hustache 1932: 383; Bennett and Alam 1985: 30; Wibmer and O’Brien 1989: 24; Ivie et al. 2008b: 276. Distribution. Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, St. Croix. USA (FL), Mexico to Panama, South America, Old World ; widespread New World. Notes. The common name is the banana corm weevil. This species is primarily, if not exclusively, associated with bananas ( Musa spp. ). According to Woodruff (1969), there are some citations of the species also being associated with manilla hemp, plantain, sugar cane and yam but these may be in error, or these plants may be attacked only if bananas are not present. Eggs are laid singly between the leaf sheaths as well as around the corm. Newly emerged larvae bore into the corm. The complete life cycle takes from 30 to 40 days with the egg stage lasting 5 to 7 days, the larval stage 15 to 20 days, and the pupal stage 6 to 8 days. Adults are primarily nocturnal. The immature stages were described by Anderson (1948). Economic significance. This species is also commonly called the “banana root borer” but its status as a primary pest of bananas needs to be confirmed since most dryophthorids only attack plants that are already sick, weakened or injured. Damage to the banana plants consists of extensive tunneling by the larvae in the corm, thus weakening the plant and making it susceptible to damage or blow-down from winds or other factors.

Metamasius atricolor (Chevrolat) 1880c: 198 ( Sphenophorus ). Distribution. Martinique; single island endemic.

Metamasius hemipterus (Linnaeus) 1758: 377 ( Curculio ); Fleutiaux and Sallé 1890: 454; Hustache 1932: 380; Ivie et al. 2008b: 276; Pérez-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 common name is 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; however, 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 Chamaedorea sp. 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. Regardless, the 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 re-infest subsequent crops.

Metamasius liratus (Gyllenhal) 1838: 914 ( Sphenophorus ); Coquerel 1849: 445; Fleutiaux and Sallé 1890: 455; Hustache 1932: 378 ( Sphenophorus ). Distribution. Dominica, Guadeloupe, Martinique; Lesser Antilles endemic. Notes. Vaurie (1966) notes that in Guadeloupe this species is common on ‘balisiers’ (canna or canna lily, Canna indica L.) and has been found in rain-soaked banana trunks lying on the ground.

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.

Metamasius quadrisignatus (Gyllenhal) 1838: 907 ( Sphenophorus ); Fleutiaux and Sallé 1890: 454; Hustache 1932: 381; Ivie et al. 2008b: 276. = M. bisignatus Hustache 1932: 382 of Guadeloupe. = M. tetraspilosus (Chevrolat) 1880 : XXXII ( Sphenophorus ) of Guadeloupe. Distribution. Dominica, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Montserrat. Panama; Lesser Antilles and Latin America . Notes. Vaurie (1966) reports specimens taken from the crowns of Tillandsia sp. in Montserrat.

Sphenophorus pygidialis Chevrolat 1880c: 198 . Distribution. Martinique; single island endemic.

Sphenophorus tetraspilosus Chevrolat 1880c : XXXI. = S. tetraspilotus: Chevrolat 1880: 315 [error] of Guadeloupe. Distribution. Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Puerto Rico. USA (KS, MO), Mexico; widespread Antilles and North and/or Central America .

Sphenophorus venatus (Say) 1831: 22 ; O’Brien and Wibmer 1982: 214; Ivie et al. 2008b: 276; Pérez- Gelabert 2008: 137. Distribution. Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico. USA (widespread), Mexico, Honduras.