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Melittomma insulare, Fairm. (Col. Lymexylonidae), a serious Pest of Coconut in the Seychelles

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Desmond Vesey-Fitzgerald
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Extract

1. Melittomma insulare is a serious pest of coconuts in parts of Seychelles and Madagascar.

2. In Seychelles the insect is only known from a few of the islands, its distributio being dependent on the original distribution of its primitive host-plants which are two species of endemic palms.

3. The eggs are laid under cover in batches and hatch in eleven days. The larvae feed in galleries in the base of the trunk for an indefinite period depending on the sappiness of the wood. Pupation takes place in the enlarged end of a boring. The adult is nocturnal and short-lived.

4. The damage caused depends on the age and situation of the tree which is attacked. Other things being equal trees growing on good soils are damaged least.

5. Several other species of insects are associated with Melittomma, but all are of minor importance.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 31 , Issue 4 , January 1941 , pp. 383 - 398
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1941

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References

Dupont, P. R. (1922). Mésures curatives et preventives pour lutter contre le Melittomma insulare.—Dep. Agric. Seychelles, Pamphl. 1.Google Scholar
Gahan, C. J. (1908). Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond., 1908, p. 275.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scott, H. (1926). Coleoptera from the Seychelles and adjacent islands.—Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., (9) 18, p. 68.Google Scholar
Scott, H. (1933). General conclusions regarding the insect fauna of Seychelles and adjacent islands.—Trans. Linn. Soc. Lond. (Zool.), 19, pp. 307—391.Google Scholar