Asiatic rhinoceros beetle

Asiatic rhinoceros beetle
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Scarabaeidae
Subfamily: Dynastinae
Genus: Oryctes
Species: O. rhinoceros
Binomial name
Oryctes rhinoceros
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms [1]

Scarabaeus rhinoceros Linnaeus, 1758

The Asiatic rhinoceros beetle or coconut rhinoceros beetle,[2][3] (Oryctes rhinoceros) is a species of rhinoceros beetle belonging to the Scarabaeidae family. O. rhinoceros attacks the developing fronds of Raffia,[4] coconut, oil, and other palms in tropical Asia and a number of Pacific islands. Damaged fronds show typical triangular cuts. The beetle kills the palms (particularly newly planted ones) when the growing point is destroyed during feeding. The larvae do not damage crops, but instead grow in dead, decaying trunks and other organic matter.[5]

Control measures include the use of cultural methods, such as crop sanitation and the use of cover crops, pheromones, together with biological controls such as the manipulation of Metarhizium majus

The beetle is an invasive species in Hawaii, where it was found on December 23, 2013. It is believed to have been brought there in air cargo.[6]

See also

References

Wikispecies has information related to: Oryctes rhinoceros
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