Holotrichia disparilis

Holotrichia disparilis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Scarabaeidae
Genus: Holotrichia
Species:
H. disparilis
Binomial name
Holotrichia disparilis
Arrow, 1916

Holotrichia disparilis is a species of chafer found in Sri Lanka.[1]

Biology

It is a major pest of Camellia sinensis particularly in nursery and seedling stages where they mainly attack roots. Disease symptoms are yellowed or dead leaves, reduced root system and finally dieback of the whole plant. White grubs mainly affect young tea plants. During dry weather, roots are infested with large number of grubs and leave calloused stumps.[2][3] They also feeds on the bark at soil level which can be seen as ring-barking of the stem. In Sri Lanka, damage occurs mainly during June to August or from November to December in north-eastern and south-western monsoonal zones. About 80-90% of grubs can be collected by hand picking method to control the pest attack.[4]

References

  1. ^ "The larval stages of chafer beetles (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae) occurring on tea plantations in Ceylon". Spolia Zeylanica 1971 Vol.32 No.1 pp.91-96. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
  2. ^ "White grub: Holotrichia disparilis". Plantwise Knowledge Bank. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
  3. ^ "Preliminary observations on susceptibility of tea clones to white grub, Holotrichia disparilis Arrow (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) attack". Sri Lanka Journal of Tea Science 1988 Vol.57 No.2 pp.68-72 ref.2. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
  4. ^ Muraleedharan, N. (1992). "Pest control in Asia". In Willson, K. C.; Clifford, M. N. (eds.). Tea. Springer Netherlands. pp. 375–412. doi:10.1007/978-94-011-2326-6_12. ISBN 978-94-010-5027-2. Retrieved 2021-07-12.


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