Neotropical Entomology (2009) 38, 769-780

Gabriel L. García, Laura Ortega-Arenas, Héctor G. Hernández, Agustín A. García, Jesús R. Nápoles and Ramón R. Cortés (2009)
Descripción de las larvas de tercer instar de Melolonthidae (Coleoptera) asociadas al cultivo de Agave tequilana var. Azul y su fluctuación poblacional en Jalisco, México
[Description of Melolonthidae (Coleoptera) third instar larvae associated to Agave tequilana var. Azul and their population fluctuation in Jalisco, Mexico]
Neotropical Entomology 38 (6), 769-780
Abstract: Third instars of white grubs of six species associated to agave tequilero in Jalisco, México were described from 1,145 specimens collected from soil samples from September 2006 to August 2007, in the municipalities of Ixtlahuacán del Río, Tepatitlán de Morelos and San Juan de Escobedo, Jalisco, México. Diagnostic characters were illustrated and a key was also included. Cyclocephala comata (Bates) was the most abundant species (63.2%), followed by Phyllophaga ravida (Blanchard) (21.9%), Phyllophaga polyphylla (Bates) (9.4%), Phyllophaga misteca (Bates) (4.1%), Strategus aloeus (L.) (1.1%) and Anomala hoepfneri (Bates) (0.3%). Phyllophaga ravida and A. hoepfneri are reported for the first time on the agave plant and the latter is a new record for the State of Jalisco. All Melolonthidae species showed a marked seasonality with lower number of larvae in June 2007 and high number in August 2007, which is associated with the region's rainy season and the agave plant age, respectively.
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(original language: Spanish)
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Database assignments for author(s): Laura D. Ortega-Arenas

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
surveys/sampling/distribution
identification/taxonomy

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Phyllophaga ravida	Agave (crop)	Mexico
	Cyclocephala comata	Agave (crop)	Mexico
	Phyllophaga polyphylla	Agave (crop)	Mexico
	Phyllophaga misteca	Agave (crop)	Mexico