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

Abstract

Several pests affect coffee (Coffea spp., Rubiaceae) and macadamia, Macadamia integrifolia Maiden & Betche (Proteaceae) in Hawaii. 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 worst pests of macadamia. This paper investigates 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 α-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 4 treatment or exposure hours-1, 6, 12, and 24-with 5 replicates. Subsequently, the beetles were ranked alive, affected, or dead. The results showed that the LLIN with α-cypermethrin had significant lethal and sub-lethal effects on both Hypothenemus species, causing over 90% mortality after 24 h of exposure and paralysis after 1, 6, and 12 h 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 min and 2.15 h, respectively, while the LT90 values were 32.11 and 20.67 h. These results imply the potential effectiveness of LLINs with α-cypermethrin for management of H. obscurus and H. hampei, but field studies are warranted for optimization.

Keywords: Hawaii; LLIN; coffee; integrated pest management; macadamia.