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General Information

Common name: Coffee berry borer
Scientific name: Hypothenemus hampei
Coleoptera:Scolytidae

Synonym: CBB, Coffee seed borer

Host plants

Coffee

Distribution

Asia, whole of Africa, South and Central America

Damage

The female borer inflicts damage to both young and matured coffee berries. She enters into the berry by making a tiny hole to feed, lay her eggs, and brood her young. She comfortably situates herself in between the two seeds or inside the hole. As a result, the berry rots, turns brown or black, and drops (Baker, 1997).

Infestation continues when a new generation of females leave and look for another berries to lay their eggs and tend their young.

nTo look for a possible breeding site, a female borer flies around the coffee tree, crawls on the branch, and proceed onto the berries to make her final berry selection. She chooses and prefers a berry with over 25% dry matter content.

Description

The eggs are ovoid-shaped, shiny, and milky-white when newly laid. These are laid in cluster of about 30 to 50 eggs. The egg development is about 25 to 60 days depending upon the temperature.

The larva is legless, white with fine sparse hair (on its body), has a brown head, and a well-developed mouthpart. It undergoes 2 larval instars.

The pupa is white and turns yellow as it matures.

An adult male is deformed, dwarf, and could not fly while the female is bigger and can fly. The latter lays her eggs inside the berry and the whole time stays with her young until they mature.

Reproduction continues inside the same berry. The new generation females mate with their brothers. However, mating with non-siblings also occurs, when two females entered and bred on the same berry and their offsprings found each other. It is possible that there could be 2 to 3 generations inside one berry.
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