Coconut rhinoceros beetle guam8/26/2023 ![]() In addition to this finding, Marshall discovered that the Guam beetles are genetically different from other rhino beetle populations on Pacific islands. Aubrey Moore showed that the Guam beetles are resistant to all available strains of the biocontrol virus. Trevor Jackson of AgResearch New Zealand, world experts on Oryctes nudivirus, were baffled when collaborative research with University of Guam entomologist Dr. Unfortunately, the virus failed for the first time in Guam. Typically, damage is reduced by up to 90 percent and the virus suppresses the beetle population for up to 30 years after introduction. This virus infects only rhinoceros beetles and it has been the best way of controlling rhino beetle damage on Pacific islands. An outbreak following this scenario occurred in the Palau during the late 1940s, resulting in about 50 percent coconut palms being killed by CRB throughout the archipelago and 100 percent mortality on some of the smaller islands.įollowing a failed eradication attempt in Guam, Oryctes nudivirus was released as a biological control agent. If a CRB population is not suppressed, it is possible for a positive feedback cycle to initiate whereby adult beetles kill massive numbers of palms, thereby generating more food for even more grubs, which turn into adults that kill even more palms. ![]() Preferred breeding sites are dead, standing coconut stems, and piles of decaying vegetation such those left behind by typhoons or after replanting of oil palm plantations. They feed on dead, decaying vegetation in breeding sites. Tree mortality occurs when beetles destroy the growing tip (meristem). Palms are damaged when adult beetles bore into the crowns of palms to feed on sap. The coconut rhinoceros beetle is a major pest of coconut palm, oil palm, and other palm species. The coconut rhinoceros beetle, Oryctes rhinoceros, that has been attacking coconut trees in Guam since it was first discovered on the island in 2007 has proven to be voracious and tenacious. 11, 2007, is a serious pest to coconut and other palms. The coconut rhinoceros beetle, discovered in Guam on Sept.
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