Bioacoustics of Acanthoscelides obtectus (Say) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae) on Phaseolus vulgaris L. (Fabaceae).
Acanthoscelides obtectus, the bean weevil, is a pest species of beetle which feeds on beans in the tropics
Abstract
The bean weevil, Acanthoscelides obtectus is an economically important pest of common bean in the tropics and subtropics. Bean weevil larvae develop inside bean seeds and only small emergence holes created by the last instar larvae in preparation for exit from the beans as adults indicate their presence in the bean seeds.
This article tests the hypothesis that readily available sound detection devices can be used to find out if larvae and adults have infested stored bean. Insect sound recordings were carried out in a portable noise-shielding chamber in the laboratory, of separate groups of larvae and adults. Moving and feeding larvae and adults produced sounds, and the researchers measured the differences. Because adults produced signals of a specific type, the researchers were able to distinguish the larvae from the adults. Use of sound detection technology in the future, especially if its costs can be reduced further, may contribute to efforts to alleviate hunger and poverty in sub-Saharan African countries (such as Kenya), where small-scale farmers regard beans as second to maize in importance.
This is an output of the ‘Development and Promotion of Alternative Eco-Friendly Strategies for Control of Crop Pests without the Use of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)’ project. It is partly funded by the UK Department for International Development, a core donor of the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology.
Citation
Njoroge A. W., Affognon H., Mutungi C., Richter U., Hensel O., Rohde B. and Mankin R.W. (2017) Bioacoustics of Acanthoscelides obtectus (Say) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae) on Phaseolus vulgaris L. (Fabaceae). Florida Entomologist 100, 109–115. http://dx.doi.org/10.1653/024.100.0116