Euwallacea piceus, is a species of weevil native to Oriental Asia but introduced to African and other Westerns Pacific parts of the world. It is a serious pest in tropical and subtropical parts of the Americas.[1][2]

Euwallacea piceus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Curculionidae
Genus: Euwallacea
Species:
E. piceus
Binomial name
Euwallacea piceus
(Motschulsky, 1863)
Synonyms
  • Wallacellus piceus (Motschulsky, 1863)
  • Anodius piceus Motschulsky, 1863
  • Xyleborus indicus Eichhoff, 1878
  • Xyleborus imitans Eggers, 1927
  • Xyleborus indicus subcoriaceus Eggers, 1927
  • Xyleborus samoensis Beeson, 1929

Distribution

edit

The native range of the species is Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Vietnam, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands. The introduced range of the beetle is in African countries: Angola, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, American Samoa, Micronesia, Fiji, New Caledonia, Samoa and Vanuatu.[3][4]

Description

edit

Adult female has described as follows: average length is about 2.1 to 2.3 mm. Frons convex, shiny and finely reticulate. Frons with large, scattered, deep punctures and scattered, long, erect setae. Pronotal sides are weakly arcuate, and serrations are absent. Elytra longer than pronotum. Elytral apex broadly rounded with unimpressed striae. There are small, shallow punctures on elytra. Elytral interstriae are slightly wider than striae. Elytral declivity is sloping, and weakly convex.[3]

Biology

edit

It is considered as a high-risk quarantine pest. They show inbreeding, with the males generally mating with their sisters within the parental gallery system before dispersal. Attacked plants show signs of wilting, and branch die-back during initial stages, and later resulting shoot breakage, chronic debilitation, and sometimes sun-scorch.[3][5]

A polyphagous species, it is observed from wide range of host plants. They attack any woody material with abundant moisture content.

Host plants

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Bark and Ambrosia Beetles of , Euwallacea piceus (Motschulsky 1863)". www.barkbeetles.info. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  2. ^ Egonyu, James Peter; Mukasa, Yosia; Ekwaru, Robert; Ogari, Isaac; Ahumuza, Gladys (2017). "Occurrence of Euwallacea sp. (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) and its ambrosia fungus Cunninghamella echinulata on Ricinus communis in Coffea canephora gardens in Uganda". International Journal of Tropical Insect Science. 37 (3): 198–207. doi:10.1017/S1742758417000121. S2CID 90914047. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  3. ^ a b c "Euwallacea piceus". www.cabi.org. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  4. ^ "Ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae, Xyleborini) of New Caledonia, with descriptions of four new species". Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine 152: 21–32. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  5. ^ "Knowledge Bank: Euwallacea piceus". Plantwiseplus Knowledge Bank. Species Pages. 22 November 2019. doi:10.1079/pwkb.species.57171. Retrieved 2021-08-24.