Environmental Entomology (1986) 15, 84-87

B. Zelazny and A. Alfiler (1986)
Oryctes rhinoceros (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) larva abundance and mortality factors in the Philippines
Environmental Entomology 15 (4), 84-87
Abstract: Oryctes rhinoceros (L.) breeding and survival in decaying coconut wood was studied in 53 plots (each 9 ha) in southern Luzon, Philippine. Compared with stumps and coconut trunks on the ground, dead standing palms were preferred for breeding and contained baculovirus-infected larvae 5- to 15-fold more frequently. The percentage of baculovirus-infected breeding sites increased with density of dead standing palms up to about five dead palms per hectare, but then decreased again. Larva mortality was higher in dead standing palms and stumps than in trunks on the ground. Rainfall was also a significant mortality factor. Palm damage due to O. rhinoceros increased with density of stumps and trunks on the ground but not with density of dead standing palm. It is concluded that in the Philippines dead standing palms can play an important role in spread of baculovirus and regulation of O. rhinoceros population.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Database assignments for author(s): Bernhard Zelazny

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
population dynamics/ epidemiology
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
environment/habitat manipulation
population dynamics/epizootiology

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Oryctes rhinoceros	Coconut (Cocos nucifera)	Philippines
Alphanudivirus oryrhinocerotis (entomopathogen)	Oryctes rhinoceros	Coconut (Cocos nucifera)	Philippines
Metarhizium majus (entomopathogen)	Oryctes rhinoceros	Coconut (Cocos nucifera)	Philippines