First Record of the Invasive Neotropical Ambrosia Beetle Euplatypus Parallelus (Fabricius, 1801) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Platypodinae) Infesting Arecanut in Karnataka, India

Abstract

An infestation of the ambrosia beetle, Euplatypus parallelus (F.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Platypodinae) on arecanut, Areca catechu L., is reported from the state of Karnataka in southwestern India for the first time. The visible symptoms on healthy and younger palms include oozing of a yellowish brown resinous exudation from infested stems. Small, pinheadsize holes were visible after removal of the resinous exudation. Symptoms on older, stressed, and diseased palms appear as extrusion of sawdust frass in the form of loose, cylindrical strings. Fronds of infested palms lose vigor and turn yellow. The size of the larval galleries varied 1.40–1.46 mm in diameter. Large numbers of larvae, pupae, and adults were found in the galleries of affected palms. Adult beetles are slender, 4.0–4.2mmlong, and brownish with yellowish hairs. Male and female specimens were distinguished based on the elytral declivity. The taxonomic identity of the species was confirmed by amplification of 649 base pairs of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene. In a climate change scenario, this beetle may become a serious threat to arecanut production in India and elsewhere.