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The bionomics of Entypotrachelus meyeri meyeri Kolbe and E. m. micans Hust. (Col., Curculionidae) on Tea in East Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

D. M. Benjamin  and
W. M. Demba
D. M. Benjamin
Affiliation:
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, U.S.A.
W. M. Demba
Affiliation:
East African Agriculture and Forestry Research Organisation, Nairobi, Kenya
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Abstract

Adults of two subspecies of Entypotrachelus meyeri Kolbe defoliate tea established on land cleared of montane rain forest, E. m. meyeri Kolbe occuring in Kenya and Tanzania to the west of the Great Rift Valley and E. m. micans Hust. only in the foothills of Mt. Kenya east of the Rift. Both subspecies are polyphagous and the host-plants are listed. Oviposition by E. m. meyeri occurs throughout the year; eggs hatch in 10–29 days, and the larvae feed on the roots of tea and various woody plants. The adults cannot fly, but field observations showed they could disperse 2–23 m in 14 days; mark-recapture data showed that 50% of the females lived 32 days, and males 37 days. The bionomics of E. m. micans were similar, but adults lived longer (50% of the females lived 55 days, males 49 days). The leaf area consumed by adults of E. m. micans was 66 mm2/day whereas the total leaf area of a seedling is 30–50 cm2, and it is shown that three adults per plant could effect defoliation in 21 days, assuming no new leaves are formed; leaf destruction at this rate is not considered economically important. Larvae of E. m. micans caused 37% rejection of tea seedlings through destruction of the tap root.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 63 , Issue 3 , March 1974 , pp. 431 - 440
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1974

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