Coconut Rhinoceros Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) Develop in Arboreal Breeding Sites in Guam

Abstract

Coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB; Oryctes rhinoceros [L.]; Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) grubs feed only on decaying vegetation and usually are found in dead standing coconut trees and decaying coconut debris on the ground. However, in Guam, a significant proportion of the CRB population develops in detritus caught within the crowns of live coconut palms. This habitat extension may be due to almost total absence of predation by insectivorous birds and mammals as a result of heavy predation by the brown tree snake, Boiga irregularis (Bechsterin) (Squamata: Colubridae).