Peltotrachelus cognatus Mshl. (Curculionidae: Coleoptera) a new pest of orchard crops.
Siddappaji C., Lingappa S.
Author Affiliation: Department of Entomology, University of Agricultural Sciences, Hebbal, Bangalore 560 024, Karnataka, India.
Current Science 46 : 307-308
Abstract : In India, Peltotrachelus juvencus (Faust) and P. pubes (Faust) have previously been recorded on fruit and timber trees. P. cognatus Mshl. is recorded for the first time from India infesting various trees, especially commercially grown fruit and nut trees (sapodilla (sapota), cashew, mango, cherry, plum, peach, guava, pear, apple and pomegranate) in the State of Karnataka in 1976. Adults appeared in large numbers on these food-plants in May and remained until November, congregating on the lower surfaces of the leaves during the sunny hours and dispersing during the cool hours of the day. More detailed observations were made on heavily infested mango grafts at Hebbal in September-October 1976; the results indicated that young leaves were more severely damaged than older ones, but that crisp ones were preferred to the very tender newly emerged leaves. Myllocerus undecimpustulatus var. maculosus Desbr., the adults of which closely resemble those of P. cognatus and have been confused with them, was also present on the heavily infested leaves of the mango grafts and of mature mango trees in the Bangalore district, but since the Peltotrachelus populations were about 4 times as large as those of Myllocerus it is presumed that P. cognatus caused most of the damage.