ABSTRACT
Oviposition of Naupactus cervinus (Boheman) and Naupactus xanthographus (Germar) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) under laboratory conditions on orange fruits

Natalia Olivares1*, Nathalie Morales2, Paola Luppichini3, and Eugenio Lopez4
 
Fuller’s rose weevil, Naupactus cervinus (=Asynonychus= Pantomorus cervinus) (Boheman), is a cosmopolitan pest that currently represents a serious quarantine problem for the Chilean citrus industry due to its similarity at the egg stage with the quarantine pest Naupactus xanthographus (Germar). The objective of this research was to study the biological aspects associated with N. cervinus and N. xanthographus oviposition habits under laboratory conditions on orange (Citrus sinensis [L.] Osbeck) fruit. Adult N. cervinus and N. xanthographus were collected from the field to carry out the research. Results show that N. cervinus fecundity was higher than N. xanthographus by more than 70%, but egg viability was lower. It was recorded that 71.90% N. cervinus ovipositions were under the calyx. Likewise, 52.46% N. xanthographus ovipositions occurred on leaves and 40.98% on the surface of the plastic cage. In the present study, only N. cervinus lays egg masses under the calyx of citrus fruit.
Keywords: Citrus sinensis, egg masses, Fuller’s rose weevil, oviposition, Naupactus.
1Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias INIA, Casilla 3, Quillota, Chile. *Corresponding author (nolivare@inia.cl).2Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Instituto de Biología, Casilla 4059, Valparaíso, Chile.3Centro de Entomología Aplicada Ltda., Biocea, Casilla 59, La Cruz, Chile.4Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Facultad de Agronomía, Casilla 4-d, Quillota, Chile.