IRR2004.01

==Invasive Insect Report 2004.01 Calamansi weevil, possibly Myllocerus sp. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)==

The calamansi weevil was first detected by Dr. Mari Marutani feeding on leaves of calamansi (citrus) planted at the University of Guam Agricultural Experiment Station at Yigo, Guam in October 2003. To date, the weevil has not been found elsewhere on Guam. Adult weevils cause minor defoliation and damage growing tips. Pinned specimens were sent to APHIS and the Natural History Museum in London, England. Digital images were sent to Bernarr Kumashiro, Hawaii Department of Agriculture via the Pacific Distance Diagnostics and Recommendation System. Specialists disagree on identification of this insect.

Identification by Steven W. Lingafelter, USDA Systematic Entomology Laboratory:

• Family Curculionidae
  • Subfamily Naupactini
    • Genus Near Plectrophoroides

Identification by R. Thompson, Natural History Museum, London:

• Family Curculionidae
  • Subfamily Entiminae
    • Tribe Myllocerini
      • Genus Myllocerus

Identifier's Notes:

The genus Myllocerus is well represented in Africa, eastern Europe, central and southern Asia and Australia, where the adults are polyphytophagous and capable of becoming pests. No Myllocerus is mentioned from Guam in the following publications: Swezy, O.H. 1940. A survey of the insect pests of cultivated plants in Guam. The Hawaiian Planters' Record 44 (3) & Zimmerman, E.C. 1942. Curculionidae of Guam. In Insects of Guam. Bulletin of B P Bishop Museum 172.

Identification by B. Kumashiro, Hawaii Department of Agriculture (from digital images only):

• Family Curculionidae
  • Subfamily Entiminae
    • Tribe Myllocerini
      • Genus Myllocerus

Identifier's Notes:

The specimens compare well with Myllocerus sp. sp. in the Hawaii Dept. of Agriculture [collection] which were determined by R. Thompson, Natural History Museum, London in 1992.