Sybra alternans Wiedemann (Cerambycidae: Coleoptera) was found in a Hawaii banana farm feeding on the dried blossom end of ‘Williams’ banana fruits. The infestation was surveyed and evaluated. This beetle was first reported in the Hawaiian Islands in 1917. The host range of S. alternans has been described by many authors, however, this is the first report of this beetle infesting banana. The potential significance of this finding is discussed, and a broader and periodical inspection for this beetle on banana farms is recommended

Chen, Hong

Fonash, Greg E.

Ota, Asher

Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society

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INFESTATION OF SYBRA ALTERNANS IN BANANA 119PROC. HAWAIIAN ENTOMOL. SOC. (2001) 35:119–122ªSCIENTIFIC NOTEInfestation of Sybra alternans(Cerambycidae: Coleoptera) in a Hawaii Banana PlantationHong Chen1, Asher Ota1, and Greg E. Fonsah21Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, 99-193 Aiea Heights Dr., Suite 300, Aiea, HI 96701-39112Aloha Farms Inc., 99-193 Aiea Heights Dr., Suite 231, Aiea, HI. 96701Abstract: Sybra alternans Wiedemann (Cerambycidae: Coleoptera) was found in aHawaii banana farm feeding on the dried blossom end of ‘Williams’ banana fruits. Theinfestation was surveyed and evaluated. This beetle was first reported in the HawaiianIslands in 1917. The host range of S. alternans has been described by many authors,however, this is the first report of this beetle infesting banana. The potential signifi-cance of this finding is discussed, and a broader and periodical inspection for thisbeetle on banana farms is recommended.One of the early shipments of Hawaiian bananas to Japan was rejected at the port of entryon July 16, 1999, due to the presence of an actionable immature insect found feeding insideone of the fingers. Being an actionable pest and an unknown species, fumigation, which isrequired of almost all shipments of fresh fruits into Japan, was refused. The informationprovided by the importer included pictures of the immature insect inside the banana whichlooked like a caterpillar. The economic impact of such a rejection is significant to any sizedfarm. Consequently, a field survey was requested with the objective of identifying the pestand determining the extent of its infestation for this banana-exporting farm.The field inspection was conducted on July 23, 1999. Four out of thirty blocks wererandomly selected and sampled. The size of the blocks were 8.6 (block 5), 10.2 (block 17),8.7 (block 27), and 15.0 (block 28) acres. Thirteen additional samples were examined at thepacking station. Only banana bunches ready for harvest were surveyed in the field. Themaximum harvesting age was 13 weeks. A total of 20 bunches were sampled with fivebunches per block. Infested fingers were carefully cut open at the blossom end to determinethe level of damage and whether the caterpillar-like immature insects were still alive andfeeding in the pulp. Further, 69 banana fingers with infested blossom ends out of the 20sampled bunches were collected and taken to the entomology laboratory of Hawaii Agricul-ture Research Center for further evaluation.Field ObservationIn fields 5 and 17, over 20 percent of the bananas were damaged on the dried blossomends. When damaged bananas were carefully cut open at the blossom end, immature insectswere found boring in and feeding in the banana pulp of many of the individual fingers. Oneadult long-horned beetle was found at the dried blossom end and collected. One caterpillarwas found on the skin of a banana fruit causing scarification. However, the immature in-sects that were feeding on the dried blossom ends of the banana fruits were recognized asbeetle larvae, not caterpillars, and were collected. When cut at about 2.5 cm from the tip ofthe infested finger, a black tunnel caused by the feeding larvae could be seen in the center of120 CHEN  ET AL.the fruit. In fields 27 and 28, beetle damage counts were as low as one out of 30 bananas(3.3%). Thirteen cluster samples were examined for beetle damage at the plantation’s ba-nana packing plant. An average infestation rate of beetle larvae of 8.5 percent was recorded.Laboratory RearingThe 69 infested fingers collected from the fields were held in insect rearing cages in thelaboratory for 13 days. Twenty-seven were cut at the tips and each tip was transferred to a30 ml plastic rearing cup for insect emergence. The remaining bananas were held in therearing cages. Two adult long-horned beetles emerged from the rearing cages. Unfortu-nately, the banana tips in plastic cups started to mold after four days. An immature insectwas observed in one of the 27 cups, but it’s identification was not made due to the moldingof the banana tips.Insect IdentificationThe adult long-horned beetle caught on a banana blossom tip in the field and two thatemerged from the rearing cages were identical and identified by insect taxonomist, BernarrKumashiro of the Hawaii State Department of Agriculture as Sybra alternans(Wiedemann).The caterpillar collected on the banana skin in the field was identified as the banana moth,Opogona sacchari.BiologyThe limited literature on Sybra alternans focuses on its distribution and host range, withlittle description of its biology. However, according to Duffy (1953), the mature larva is 12mm in length, 2.9 mm breadth, meso- and metanotum slightly shining, smooth abdomenwith ampullae not bilobed. Swezey (1950) reported that Sybra beetle’s life cycle was ap-proximately four months in length, with a rather long larval stage characteristic ofcerambycids. It is nocturnal and seems to prefer host plants that are thoroughly dried (Notesand Exhibitions 1951). The larvae eventually bore into the wood to pupate (Swezey 1950).DistributionSybra alternans is known to be distributed in Indonesia, Philippines, Micronesia, andHawaiian Islands (Gressitt 1956, Duffy 1963). In Hawaii, it was first recorded in Honolulu,Oahu, where it was recognized in material coming from Philippines, on July 6, 1917(Fullaway 1922). Subsequently, it was again reported on the island of Hawaii in 1928 (Notesand Exhibitions 1928), on the Island of Molokai in 1930 (Notes and Exhibitions 1934), onthe Island of Lanai in 1939 (Sakimura and Linford 1940), on the Island of Maui in 1943(Krauss 1944a), and on the Island of Kauai in 1944 (Krauss 1944b). Sybra alternans wasone of the species that was recorded in the collections from Midway Atoll, where manyinsects were introduced from Hawaii through shiploads of soil intended for a cable station(Suehiro 1960). It also occurred in collections from Kwajalein Atoll (Sugerman 1972, 1979).Host RangeSybra alternans has a wide host range including dry limbs of live fig trees (Notes andExhibitions 1927); stems of jack beans (Notes and Exhibitions 1928); dead aerial roots ofPandanus (Swezey, 1931); dead stems of most kinds of trees and shrubs of the lowlandsINFESTATION OF SYBRA ALTERNANS IN BANANA 121(Notes and Exhibitions, 1934); dead stems of basil and cocklebur (Swezey 1935a); deadtwigs of cotton (Swezey 1935b); dead branches of breadfruit trees (Notes and Exhibitions1935, 1949); pineapple (Sakimura and Linford 1940); garden bean (Holdaway and Look1942); Cordia fruits (Notes and Exhibitions 1947); dead Euphorbia plants (Notes and Exhi-bitions 1951, Duffy 1953); dying stems of Euphorbia multiformis and algaroba (Prosopis)trees (Swezey 1954); dead branches of Artocarpus, Barringtonia, Cycas, Triphasia (Duffy1963, Gressitt 1956); peduncles of passion fruit (in this case, S. alternans damage causedsome fruits to drop prematurely) (Notes and Exhibitions 1957); Hibiscus, Ficus, Cordia,and pseudo-bulbs of various orchid species (Notes and Exhibitions 1949, Duffy 1953, 1963);and klu pods and its seed coats (Hinckley 1960). It is generally believed that Hawaiiancerambycid species are associated with introduced plants (there are no native cerambycids)and therefore occur primarily at low altitudes (below 900 meters) (Gressitt and Davis, 1972).Sybra alternans was also reported feeding on sugarcane smut chlamydospores in Hawaii(Bowler et al. 1977), and it was observed as a secondary pest on the dying branches of aPittosporum tobira hedge (Notes and Exhibitions 1981).DiscussionThe significant finding of this survey was that the immature insects feeding on the driedblossom ends of the banana fruits were the beetle larvae, not the caterpillars. Although therehave been many reports of Sybra alternans attacking various plants in Hawaii, there havebeen no previous reports of S. alternans infesting banana. Therefore, this report could be thefirst instance of Sybra alternans in banana. Different fields had different infestation rateswhich might be the result of differences in surrounding vegetation or moisture, or field sani-tation. S. alternans infestations potentially could spread and increase in a short time. There-fore, control strategies are imperative. The economic impact of Sybra alternans will be afunction of several factors, such as farm size, yields, price per box or pound, transportationcost, crop insurance, etc.; the overall loss to the banana industry if not treated could be worthmillions of dollars (Fonsah and Chidefelu, 1995). Possible infestations of Sybra alternansshould be inspected in banana plantations in Hawaii and other banana growing regions aroundthe world. A thorough study is recommended on S. alternans’ biology, host range, damageand economic impact in the banana industry if more infestations are discovered.AcknowledgmentsThanks to Bernarr Kumashiro, insect taxonomist, Hawaii State Department of Agriculture,who assisted in identifying the insect species, and Ron Heu, State survey entomologist, whogenerously provided us with additional literature on Sybra alternans. Equal thanks to themanagement of Aloha Farms Inc. who invited and assisted us to carry out the investigation.ReferencesBorror, D. J., C. A. Triplehorn, and N. F. Johnson. 1989. An Introduction to the Study of Insects,sixth edition, pp 449–450. Saunders College Publishing.Bowler, P. A., E. E. Trujillo, and J. W. Beardsley, Jr. 1977. Insect feeding on sugarcane smut inHawaii. Proc. Hawaiian Entomol. Soc., v 22, n 3, pp 451–456.Duffy, E. A. J. 1953. The immature stages of Hawaiian Cerambycidae, with key to larvae. Proc. Ha-waiian Entomol. Soc., v 15, n 1, pp 135–158.Duffy, E. A. J. 1963. A Monograph of the Immature Stages of Australasian Timber Beetles(Cerambycidae). British Museum, London.Fonsah, E. G. and S. Chidefelu. 1995. Economics of Banana Production and Marketing in the Trop-122 CHEN  ET AL.ics. Minera, Rress, London.Fullaway, D. T. 1922. Notes on immigrant Coleoptera. Proc. of HES, v 5, n 1, pp 75–82.Gressitt, J. L. 1956. Insects of Micronesia Coleoptera: Cerambycidae. B. P. Bishop Museum Insectsof Micronesia, n 17, n 2.Gressitt, J. L. and C. J. Davis. 1972. Seasonal occurrence of the Hawaiian Cerambycidae (Col.), Proc.Hawaiian Entomol. Soc., v 21, n 2, pp 213–221Hinckley, A. D. 1960. The klu beetle, Mimosestes sallaei (Sharp), in Hawaii (Coleoptera: Bruchidae).Proc. Hawaiian Entomol. Soc., v 17, n 2, pp 260–269.Holdaway, F. G. and W. C. Look. 1942. Insects of the garden bean in Hawaii. Proc. Hawaiian Entomol.Soc., v 11, n 2, pp 249–260.Krauss, N. L. H. 1944a. Notes on insects and other arthropods from the Islands of Molokai and Maui,Hawaii. Proc. Hawaiian Entomol. Soc., 1942. v 12, n 1, pp 81–94.Krauss, N. L. H. 1944b. Notes on some Hawaiian insects. Proc. Hawaiian Entomol. Soc., 1942. v 12,n 2, pp 309–317.Notes and Exhibitions 1927. Proc. Hawaiian Entomol. Soc., v 6, n 3, pp 352.Notes and Exhibitions 1928. Proc. Hawaiian Entomol. Soc., v 7, n 1, pp 13,16.Notes and Exhibitions 1934. Proc. Hawaiian Entom. Soc., v 8, n 3, pp 387.Notes and Exhibitions 1947. Proc. Hawaiian Entomol. Soc., v 9, n 1, pp 20–21.Notes and Exhibitions 1947. Proc. Hawaiian Entomol. Soc., v 13, n 1, pp 11.Notes and Exhibitions 1949. Proc. Hawaiian Entomol. Soc., v 13, n 3, pp 327, 336–337.Notes and Exhibitions 1951. Proc. Hawaiian Entomol. Soc., v 14, n 2, pp 215.Notes and Exhibitions 1957. Proc. Hawaiian Entomol. Soc., v 16, n 2, pp 190.Notes and Exhibitions 1981. Proc. Hawaiian Entomol. Soc., v 23, n 3, pp 332.Sakimura K. and M. B. Linford. 1940. An annotated list of insects from Lanai. Proc. Hawaiian Entomol.Soc., v 10, n 3, pp 451–454.Suehiro A. 1960. Insects and other arthropods from Midway Atoll. Proc. Hawaiian Entomol. Soc., v17, n 2, pp 289–298.Sugerman, B. 1972. Insects and other Arthropods from Kwajalein Atoll (Marshall Islands). Proc.Hawaiian Entomol. Soc., v21, n 2, pp 271–286.Sugerman, B. 1979. Additions to the list of insects and other Arthropods from Kwajalein Atoll (MarshallIslands). Proc. Hawaiian Entomol. Soc., v23, n 1, pp 147–151.Swezey, O. H. 1931. Miscellaneous notes. Proc. Hawaiian Entomol. Soc., v 7, n 3, pp 483–484.Swezey, O. H. 1935a. The winter revival of insect life in the arid region of Koko Head, Oahu. Proc.Hawaiian Entomol. Soc., v 9, n 1, pp 93–96.Swezey, O. H. 1935b. Insect fauna of Gossypium tomentosum. Proc. Hawaiian Entomol. Soc., v 9, n 1,pp 96–98.Swezey, O. H. 1950. Notes on the life cycle of certain introduced Cerambycid beetles. Proc. HawaiianEntomol. Soc., v 14, n 1, pp 187–188.Swezey, O. H. 1954. Forest Entomology in Hawaii. Bernice P. Bishop Museum Special Publication 44.Tillyard, R. J. and N. Z. Nelson. 1927. Ancestry of insects—Special meeting. Proc. Hawaiian Entomol.Soc., v 6, n 3, pp 350-352.

Infestation of Sybra alternans (Cerambycidae: Coleoptera) in a Hawaii Banana Plantation

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Infestation of Sybra alternans (Cerambycidae: Coleoptera) in a Hawaii Banana Plantation

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