Pests > Pests Entities > Insects > Beetles > Oxycetonia versicolor, Samoa



Pests > Pests Entities > Insects > Beetles > Oxycetonia versicolor, Samoa

Pests Pests Entities Insects Beetles Oxycetonia versicolor, Samoa

Oxycetonia versicolor

April 2005. A beetle from Samoa on rambutan. It wa nt sure if the rots on the fruit were due to this insect. It was not clear to members, but the flower beetle, Oxycetonia versicolor, was a possibility. It has been found in Samoa to be associated with the rhinoceros beetle…. “were collected commonly from sawdust, grass compost, and other heaps of organic matter but only occasionally from under coconut split log traps”.

Reference: Hinckley AD (1967) Associates of the coconut rhinoceros beetle in Western Sama. Pacific Insects 9(3): 505-511.

A member wrote: “I have seen that damage to rambutan every year in Asau during the years I
was in Samoa, but always thought it was a disease problem. The damage was never serious enough though to warrant further investigation (or in those days there were enough rambutans there to not worry about a few rotten ones!). Interesting to see that you now have found the culprit”.

The beetle was thought to be in the collection at Nu’u. Similar beetles were found in the collection that also occurred on the fruit in the field.