Oviposition damage and immature stages of Heilipus lauri Boheman (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in fruits of Persea americana Miller (Lauraceae)

Abstract

Abstract The big avocado seed weevil Heilipus lauri Boheman (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is one of the most limiting pests for avocado exports in Latin America due to its quarantine nature. However, many aspects of its behavior and its relationship with the crop are still unknown. The infestation of an avocado backyard orchard at the Catholic University of the East in Antioquia, Colombia, and the removal of plant material allowed the collection of 66 infected fruits to collect biological data on the pest. The objective of this research was to determine the relationship between the number of perforations, the larvae found in the seeds and the morphological variables of the fruit. The results of this work suggest that a high proportion of the fruits drilled in the field have the presence of larvae of the pest, and that the weight of the fruits may influence the number of perforations carried out by the females. The instars did not show any relationship with the morphological variables of the fruits, nor with the number of perforations, which means that it is possible to find larvae of different instars regardless of the size of the fruit. These results suggest that drilling allows early detection of the pest and estimation of population densities of the immature stages in the field.