Talk:Euwallacea fornicatus

Latest comment: 7 years ago by Emilysessa in topic Feedback from Emily

Minor grammar edits edit

I just have a couple of suggestions to help the article.

  1. 1

I would change the first paragraph to this:

‘’Euwallacea fornicatus’’ is an invasive ambrosia beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae: Xyleborini) that causes economic damages when introduced into a new environment. As the rest of the ambrosia beetles, ‘’E. fornicatus’’ larvae and adults feed on a symbiotic fungus, which they carry in a specific structure called a mycangia, which resides in the mandible of ‘’E. fornicatus’’. Massive numbers of ‘’E. fornicatus’’ and the symbiotic fungus they consume will cause harm to trees in the area they are newly exposed to, even though alone, the fungus is a weak pathogen (Smith & Hulcr 2015).   Done

For the sentence: "As the rest of the ambrosia beetles, ‘’E. fornicatus’’ larvae and adults feed on a symbiotic fungus, which they carry in a specific structure called a mycangia, which resides in the mandible of ‘’E. fornicatus’’."

I know nothing about this, but I believe this is the plural form of the word. I would think you would use the singular version here, but I have no clue.   Done


  1. 2

I would change the 2nd paragraph to:

“E. fornicatus’’ breeds in various live hosts and is considered a severe pest of several economically important plants, such as tea (‘’Camellia sinensis’’), avocado (‘’Persea americana’’), citrus (‘’Citrus’’ spp.) and cacao (‘’Theobroma cacao’’) (Eskalen et al. 2012).  Done


  1. 3

For the identification section, I would change it to this:

Identification edit

Adult Adult females are range between 1.9-2.5 mm long and are typically bulky, dark brown or black. The frontal edge of the ‘’E. fornicatus’’ pronotum has a row of saw-like projections (Li et al. 2015). Moreover, specimens have erect setae organized in rows in the elytral declivity with a costa in the posterolateral edge. As many other ambrosia beetles, males are significantly smaller, with non-functional wings.   Partly done:

Larvae ‘’E. fornicatus’’ larvae are similar to larvae in the family Curculionidae; legless, c-shaped and a sclerotized head capsule.


  1. 4

For the History of expansion section, I would make the following changes:

History of expansion edit

The tea shot hole borer has been documented as affecting tea (‘’Camelia sinensis’’) in at least 10 different countries (Li et al. 2015). This includes India and Sri Lanka, where it is a major pest causing a great deal of economic damage (Danthanarayana 1968). In 2009, specimens matching the description for ‘’E. fornicatus’’ were introduced into Israel, where they were documented as vectors of a new fungal plant pathogen in avocado trees (Mendel et al. 2012). In 2012, a similar fungal disease was recorded in avocado trees in California (CA) (Eskalen et al. 2012). Since 2007, specimens of ‘’E. fornicatus’’ have been verified in Florida on avocado trees, but it is not considered a health threat as any disease is expressed (Carrillo et al. 2012)   Done

I do have a suggestion for the beginning sentence: Is Camelia sinensis a common tea plant? If so I would say: The tea shot hole borer has been known to cause devastating damage to common tea plants in many different countries. I’m assuming some things in that sentence, so I would change it in a way that is appropriate.   Done

For the 2nd paragraph in this section, I would make the following changes:

Even though several taxa were synonymized under the name ‘’E. fornicatus’’ due to their morphological similarity, some of the clades are different in terms of economic severity. ‘’E. fornicatus’’ is considered a complex species, with several clades that occur in separate regions of Southeast Asia and develop in different hosts (Smith & Hulcr 2015). Phylogenetic work using the DNA mitochondrial gene, COI, suggested that there are three major clades within the species ‘’E. fornicatus’’. This supports the idea that at least three different species with phlyogeographic boundaries within the species complex (Stouthamer et al. 2017).   Done

Comments for this section: I would reword "some of the clades are different in terms of economic severity" and "at least three different species with phlyogeographic boundaries within the species complex" in this paragraph.   Partly done:

For the 3rd paragraph I would make the following changes:

The first clade proposed, ‘’E. fornicatus sensu stricto’’ (commonly called the tea shot hole borer), is original from southern Southeast Asia and was introduced into Hawaii and Florida. A second clade, the Kuroshio shot hole borer, is believed to have originated in the Pacific islands, and has since been introduced in San Diego county, California. The third clade is thought to originate from a more northern range in Southeast Asia and have since been introduced into Los Angeles, California and Israel. The last clade has been given the common name Polyphagous shot hole borer, which is in reference to it’s very broad host range. It has been severely affecting avocado trees in association with several ‘’Fusarium’’ species (Kasson et al. 2013). Multiple populations of the ‘’E. fornicatus’’ complex have been introduced throughout the world, causing different harm in each region where they have been recently introduced.  Partly done:

For this part of the paragraph "‘’E. fornicatus sensu stricto’’ (commonly called the tea shot hole borer)", I would mention this part when you first mention the tea shot hole borer in the 1st History of expansion paragraph.

For San Diego county, California I think you could just put San Diego, California but I would double check that.

  1. 5

For the Management section of the article, I would make the following changes:

Management edit

The most recommended management strategies include sanitation of infected hosts and avoiding the spread of infected material. Chemical control may be an option when the infected hosts are not part of human consumption and some attempts of biological control have been made with little success. For pest management to be successful, resistant or tolerant varieties must be implemented (Walgama 2012).  Partly done:

For the sentence "some attempts of biological control have been made with little success." I'm not sure what to do with this part, I would delete or reword this part of the sentence. Y

Also when you mention "resistant or tolerant varieties", I’m not sure what this is referring too, pesticides?


Those are all my comments, I learned a lot about beetles!

Tpaisie (talk) 00:10, 3 March 2017 (UTC)Reply

Thanks for the comments! Already taking them into account Dgomezuf (talk) 00:59, 3 March 2017 (UTC)Reply
comments implemented Dgomezuf (talk) 15:39, 3 March 2017 (UTC)Reply

Feedback from Emily edit

Great looking page!

Under History of Expansion, the very first words use a common name (tea shot hole borer), but that's the first time you use that name (I think). Please change it to the Latin name, or mention the common name somewhere earlier, or even right at this point ("Euwallacea fornicatus, commonly know as the tea shot hole borer, ...")   Done

Fix grammar: "but it is not considered a health threat as any disease is expressed"   Done

I think you should add a heading called "Taxonomy" or "Evolution" and move the second two paragraphs under "History of Expansion" there, since these talk about clades and evolutionary relationships. They don't really fit under a heading about expansion. The text itself doesn't need to change, just add in a heading above them.   Done

Nice job! Emilysessa (talk) 15:07, 13 April 2017 (UTC)Reply